PHOTO GALLERY: Portraits from Columbia's Salute to Veterans air show

Sharon Starks and her husband, Dick Starks, members of The Dawn Patrol flying club, drove to Columbia with their planes for the Salute to Veterans Airshow on Sunday at the Columbia Regional Airport. Dick Starks has been flying since 1976, and Sharon Starks started flying in 1998. "He convinced me to do it after I retired," Sharon Starks said. The couple continues to fly just for fun.   |  Caitlin Jones

Greg Maples poses for a portrait during the Salute to Veterans Airshow on Sunday at the Columbia Regional Airport. He recalls, "When I was 16, I couldn't find my birth certificate, so I couldn't get my driver's license, but I had my car shined and a date coming, so instead I took her up in my airplane." Maples, his father and his brother work on planes together, and he hopes to get his son involved.   |  Caitlin Jones

John Hightower, 16, got his pilot's license for solo flights in April, but he has been flying in planes since he was 3. The longest trip he has ever taken was the flight from St. Louis to Columbia for the Salute to Veterans Airshow on Sunday at the Columbia Regional Airport. Later this year, Hightower plans to fly to Oshkosh, Wis., for the largest airshow in the country. "It's quiet and peaceful. It's rather relaxing if you can believe that," he said.   |  Caitlin Jones

Darrell Porter has been flying since the early '90s and attended the Columbia Salute to Veterans Airshow on Sunday at Columbia Regional Airport. "It's the only thing I know; it's a way of life. It's the best feeling you can have," he said about flying.   |  Caitlin Jones