Arklahoma STOL Competition

WHEN— Sept. 19-20; competitor practice starts at 12:30 p. m. Sept. 19; airshow gates open to the public at 9 a. m. Sept. 20

WHERE— Patriot Airpark, 800 W. Pryor St. in Pocola, Okla.

COST— $ 20 admission online, $ 20 day of event; children 12 and younger free

INFO— patriotairpark. com 10 • SEPTEMBER 2025 • OZARK LIVING

By Becca Martin-Brown Special to NWA Media

While Northwest Arkansas is mountain biking its way into the future, the River Valley is arriving by air.

Making headlines has been the multi-million dollar investment in the Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Fort Smith to support a new training program. That means allied countries from around the world will send their pilots to Ebbing in coming years to receive training on fifth generation F-35 jets.

But across the state line in Pocola, Okla., pilots will be landing at Patriot Airpark, a“ fly-in community” imagined by founder Alex Cardenas. The development includes traditional single-family and multi-family residential sites plus“ aviation homesites.” Set on 1-acre lots, the“ barndominium” style“ hangar homes” will offer about 2,500 square feet of living space and a 2,500-square-foot place to park the plane you just landed on the Patriot airstrip.

And on Sept. 19-20, the Arklahoma edition of the National STOL Series will bring“ a nationwide audience to explore the opportunities that both Arkansas and Oklahoma have to offer,” according to Karen Flanary,

Alex Cardenas

a spokeswoman for the National STOL Series.

STOL stands for“ short take off and landing,” and STOL planes might seem most at home in the wilderness of the frozen north, two-seaters flying in to deliver winter supplies to some tiny village just outside the Arctic Circle.

In an interview before last year’ s event at Patriot Airpark, Flanary said STOL“ competitions can be found all over the world, with the Valdez, Alaska, competition being the most well known. National STOL took these local competitions to a new level by enhancing the experience to include live broadcasts and social media exposure.”

Pilots, she said, often come from backgrounds in military or