At some point over the years, the annual gathering of area pilots showing off their aging aircraft took flight of its own and became a major event.

The event "started out as a clique-y little group of ‘taildragger’ guys who invited all their friends to Gainesville and they would spend the night," said Winn R. Fletcher, a Flowery Branch pilot, referring to pilots who steer airplanes with a tailwheel, rather than a wheel under the craft’s nose.

"They didn’t advertise it. It was just word of mouth and it ... kept evolving and getting larger and larger," said Fletcher, president of Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 611.

"It has turned into a car show for airplanes, and we get guys pulling stuff out of barns ... they dust them off and bring ‘em here," he said.

The result has been the Cracker Fly-in. In its 41st year, the event is set to begin Saturday at Lee Gilmer Memorial Airport, off Queen City Parkway in Gainesville.

The exact spot of the event, open to the public for a donation of $1 per person, has been moved this year. Fletcher said the best way to reach it is by Palmour Drive, which is just off Interstate 985.

"It’s much better," he said, of the location. "We get everybody spread out ... and we’ve got a lot more room for growth, because every year, (the event) gets bigger."

The event begins at 7:30 a.m. with a pancake breakfast and fly-in of the aircraft.

Visitors can expect to peek inside a wide array of personal airplanes, including new and old Cessna. Lance Liggin, a Dacula resident and Buford businessman, expects to have his bright yellow Piper Club, a classic "taildragger" with its 12-gallon tank and about two-hour flying time, on display.

"Everything in there is pretty simple, truly seat-of-the-pants flying, stick-and-rudder type flying," Liggin said.

"My father purchased the airplane out of Louisiana. The guy had it on a farm out there. Other than that, I don’t know a lot of the history," he added. "...We bought the airplane just to play with it — fly it and enjoy it. And the kids love it."

And the 1960s-era Cessna that Fletcher’s wife, Shelly, is learning to fly also will be shown.

This year’s event will have a military touch, with a Black Hawk helicopter being provided by the Georgia Army National Guard.

Also, "this is the first year we’ve had the Huey Helicopter rides," Fletcher said.

The sponsors, Sky Soldiers, is a group of Vietnam veterans using a Vietnam-era helicopter.

Visitors can climb aboard for a ride in area skies. The charge is $40 for veterans and $45 for all others.

"I saw where they leave the doors open and they’ve got special seat belts where they let whomever ride on the side of the helicopter," Fletcher said.

Also, a 1936 Lockheed 12A plane used in a movie about Amelia Earhart, the famous pilot who went missing in flying over the Pacific Ocean in 1937, will be returning to the event, he said.

Aircraft will be judged with awards handed out in nine categories.

The show’s name derives from the event originally taking place on July 4 and known as the "Firecracker Fourth of July Fly-in."

"As it got larger, people started complaining, ‘Hey, I want to come to your fly-in, but we’ve got family picnics and stuff,’ so they shifted the event to the first Saturday after the Fourth," Fletcher said.

The "cracker" part of the name stuck.

Also, at some point in the event’s history, the Experimental Aircraft Association took control of the event.

"We wanted to use this opportunity to bring the public to the event and show them what we do here," Fletcher said.