FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The show will go on at the Fort Lauderdale Air Show after the Air Force Thunderbirds had to cancel their performance.
The show will kick off Saturday, and dozens of civilian and military performers will be in tow. But the star of the show is the F/A-18F Super Hornet, promising to jazz up the crowds on the beach this weekend.
There will be "a lot of thrills and spills in the air," U.S. Navy Lt. Chris Walker said.
This year, there will be some changes to the roster at the air show.
The show-stopping Thunderbirds canceled their performance following the loss of a major who died during practice last month.
In their place headlining is the U.S. Navy's F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet. The aircraft's pilot promises to get lots of "oohs and ahhs" from the crowd.
"They will see us flying up to speeds of about 620 knots, or 670 miles an hour, they'll see us fly upside down -- we'll do loops, we'll do all sorts of high-speed passes, and then we'll come in for a carrier break at one point and show you what it looks like right before we land on a boat," Walker said.
The New York Air National Guard, along with the U.S. Coast Guard, are set to perform a demo and for the first time since 2012, this year’s show will feature a sea component, giving spectators a look at what it's like to fly on the water.
"It will be the Lucas Oil Offshore Power Boat Team putting on a demo and they will actually end up racing the Lucas Oil Pitts aerobatic plane," Chris Dirato said.
A kickoff concert will be held Friday night along Fort Lauderdale Beach, where the pilots will be available for a meet and greet. The actual show begins at noon Saturday.
A1A will be closed from 14th Court to Sunrise in both directions from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
