Blue Angels, F-22 Raptor teams ready to impress at Fort Lauderdale Air Show

Event held Saturday, Sunday on Fort Lauderdale Beach

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The annual Fort Lauderdale Air Show is this weekend, and some of the military's top pilots are ready to impress.

The Blue Angels are some of the most talented pilots in the world, and in just a few days, they'll be soaring over Fort Lauderdale Beach.

"It's really special to come to a beautiful place like Fort Lauderdale, fly over the beach," Capt. Eric Doyle said. "It was a beautiful flight in. I got to see a bunch of the great countryside, so we're really excited to be here."

Crews from both the U.S. Navy Blue Angels and U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor teams brought their aircraft Thursday to Fort Lauderdale’s airport and showed them off to the media.

During the show over the weekend, the F-22 Raptor will be piloted by Maj. Paul "Loco" Lopez -- the first black pilot to command the demo team.

"It's very humbling in the fact that your heroes become your friends, because a lot of people have grown up at least going to air shows, to seeing an air show or hearing about them from their friends," Lopez said. 

On Wednesday, Local 10's Ian Margol got the chance to fly with the Blue Angels -- one of the event's other major headliners.

They showed off some of the moves they'll be demonstrating over the weekend, and the six planes will only be 18 inches apart when they do them.

"It's a testament to our training, and it's not just Blue Angel training, but it's the training we get in the Navy and Marine Corps through our careers," Doyle said. 

The air show is being held Saturday and Sunday at Fort Lauderdale Beach.

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