Diana Beauford tells her story of how she began her love affair with flying, and it starts like her aviation beginnings — small and humble.

“My dad asked me if I wanted to take a flying lesson when I was 14,” she said. “I thought it sounded fun so I came out here and gave it a shot and fell in love with it right away.”

On Thursday, Beauford was able to create a symbolic moment as she arrived at Richard B. Russell Regional Airport in a U.S. Navy F-18 Super Hornet.

It was on her 16th birthday that Beauford made her first solo flight at Richard B. Russell Airport. And it was on her 30th birthday, on the same spot, that she got to celebrate how far she had come.

“Fourteen years ago today I was 16 years old and landing on runway one here at Rome airport in a Cessna 150,” she said. “Today I landed on runway one in an F-18. It was my dream when I was 16, so I got to see everything come full circle.”

Beauford, who grew up in Taylorsville, flew in for the 2012 Wings Over North Georgia Air Show, which begins today and continues through Sunday at the airport.

She was a ferry pilot for the member of the F-18 demo team who will perform each day during the air show.

“I just brought the spare airplane in case something breaks on their plane,” Beauford said. “(If that happens) then I’ll just be stuck in Rome for a little while, which wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.”

It was while she was attending Darlington School that she began thinking about how to continue her passion for flying after she graduated with the class of 2001.

She got interested in the military and how she could do “something bigger than myself,” which led to her attending the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.

After that she began flight school in 2005 and then went on to fly over Iraq and Afghanistan on two separate combat cruises, each while deployed on the USS Abraham Lincoln supercarrier.

Beauford is currently an instructor at the naval air station in Virginia Beach, Va., and is teaching the next generation of pilots how to operate the F-18.

She said a lot of memories came back to her as she flew over Floyd County.

“It was just neat to look around and see everything and see how it’s changed,” Beauford said. “I looked back over the years and think about all of the people who helped me get here.”

Beauford will be out at the air show all weekend along with the F-18 to talk to people about the aircraft and its capabilities.

• TODAY

1:30 p.m.: Parking and shuttle bus service starts*

2 p.m.: Airport gates open

Air show rehearsal

4 to 8 p.m.: Auto show, BBQ classic

5 to 7:30 p.m.: Performers welcome & kickoff party (*Advance ticket purchase only), featuring Kurt Thomas Band

7:45 to 8:30 p.m.: Twilight air show

8:45 to 10 p.m.: Aaron Tippin concert

10:30 p.m.: Airport gates close

11 p.m.: Shuttle service ends

• SATURDAY

8:30 a.m.: Parking and shuttle service starts

General Admission & Handicap Parking: $10 (*Rome-Braves Stadium)

9 a.m.: Airport gates open

10:45 to 11:15 a.m.: Opening ceremonies

11:15 a.m. to 5 p.m.: Air show

10 a.m. to 4 p.m.: Auto show and barbecue classic

11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.: Barbecue classic people’s choice tasting center

6:30 p.m.: Airport gates close

7 p.m.: Shuttle service ends

• SUNDAY

8:30 a.m.: Parking & shuttle service starts

9 a.m.: Airport gates open

10:45 to 11:15 a.m.: Air show opening ceremonies

11:15 a.m. to 5 p.m.: Air show

10 a.m. to 4 p.m.: Auto show

5:30 p.m.: Airport gates close

6 p.m.: Shuttle service ends

*Reserved Permit Parking Only (*Russell Regional Airport)

*Limited Handicap Permit Parking: $10 (*Russell Regional Airport)

*Limited Overflow Parking: $15 (*Russell Regional Airport)