FORT SMITH (KFSM) -- A record-breaking human cannonball is making the rounds around the country -- including here at home. David "The Bullet" Smith is stopping in at the Arkansas-Oklahoma Fair for 22 shows.
"This is always scary," he said of the performance, which he's done for 21 years.
Such is life for the human cannonball. While everyone else enjoyed the rides, games, food, and prizes, Smith prepared to fly 150 feet into a red net.
"The devil's in the details," he said.
Incredibly, Smith said he has to do a full somersault and actually take his eyes off the landing to do his job properly. All that while falling at about 60 miles per hour. He said that's something he had to get used to.
But with experience and his father's wisdom, he makes it happen.
"Following in my daddy's flight path, so to speak."
His father called the same profession his own for the better part of 40 years.
"My dad was the best human cannonball that ever lived. I'm trying to do him right, you know?"
So with every curious crowd gathering and every blast off and every landing -- which, by the way, was smooth on Friday (Sept 22) -- he's got his dad on his mind.
The fair runs through September 30th.