FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The U.S. Navy's high-flying Blue Angels are getting ready to wow South Florida again with their incredible maneuvers at the Fort Lauderdale Air Show.
These pilots are the best of the best, and on Wednesday, Local 10 News reporter Ian Margol got a firsthand look at some of the moves they'll be doing this weekend.
The Blue Angels are famous for their incredible air acrobatics and for just being plain cool.
Margol started out with a quick briefing before suiting up to head on out.
He walked out to the No. 7 F-18 Hornet, climbed into the back seat and was ready to go.
"You saw the maximum performance capability of the aircraft. You saw the slowest it can get -- about 120 knots," Lt. Cary Rickoff said. "The fastest it can get or close to as fast as it can get is just over the speed of sound. Then you saw the max performance roll, pitch and turn radius of the jet."
After breaking the sound barrier, Margol was almost at the end of the flight, but his pilot, who goes by the call sign Chewy, said there was one more move to make -- a 180-degree bank that pushed him through 7.5 Gs.
"That was so cool," Margol said after the flight. "Absolutely incredible. I didn't puke and I didn't pass out either, so mission accomplished!"
Margol wasn't the one doing the flying, but he said it was a workout.
He said after he finished, it felt like he just did a full hour at the gym.
The Blue Angels will be flying at the Fort Lauderdale Air Show this weekend.
The air show is being held Saturday and Sunday at Fort Lauderdale Beach.
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