MILWAUKEE — With the 2023 Milwaukee Air & Water Show around the corner, Wisconsin’s Morning News co-hosts Vince Vitrano and Erik Bilstad looked back at their individual experiences flying with the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds respectively.
Want to see what they looked like? Let’s take it back to 2004, when an ascending Vitrano was working as an anchor/reporter with TMJ4. He was invited to ride in a Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet with the Blue Angels. If you’re unable to view the video in your browser below, you can click here to watch it on YouTube.
Vitrano, who looks back at the experience yearly for a chuckle, admits to passing out not just once, but twice while accelerating through the sky. Who could blame him?
Bilstad had a similar experience, flying as a passenger in a General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon with the Thunderbirds. His flight was documented in a segment for TMJ4, in which he learned more about what it takes to fly one of these aircraft and just how fast it could go.
Thanks to the accommodations of his G Suit — built to withstand the pressure of high-speed flight — Erik managed to get through the flight without passing out.
If you are unable to view the video in your browser below, you can click here to watch it on YouTube.
Milwaukee’s lakefront will become home to a wide range of water and aircraft over the weekend of July 21 with pilots, enthusiasts and spectators visiting from all over to catch some of the action. The Blue Angels headline the Air Show, performing at 3:00 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday.
For more information about the Milwaukee Air and Water Show, including the schedule, tickets and parking, click here.
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