Blue Angels, Thunderbirds to headline free NAS Jacksonville air show<\/a><\/p>\nBut I didn\u2019t just watch from the ground. I got an up-close look from the back seat of one of the jets.<\/p>\n
Getting ready for takeoff<\/p>\n
Before climbing into the cockpit, my photographer, Carlos, and I arrived at Naval Air Station Jacksonville for a safety briefing and a lesson in breathing techniques \u2014 a critical part of surviving high-G maneuvers at altitude.<\/p>\n
Lt. Cmdr. Ronny Hafeza, the Blue Angels\u2019 No. 7 pilot, explained the value of flying alongside a first-timer.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the instance between you and I, where, you know, you take someone who\u2019s never been in this aircraft before, goes up in the jet, experiences all the maneuvers they could experience under the sun, and we come back and we have a shared experience,\u201d Hafeza said.<\/p>\n
Up in the air<\/p>\n
Once airborne, the camera inside the cockpit captured my raw, unfiltered reactions. <\/p>\n
Expressions like, \u201cWow. Whoa! Oh my Gosh! It\u2019s beautiful!\u201d<\/p>\n
Hafeza narrated the physical demands of the ride in real time, coaching me through the intense forces my body was under.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo as the G starts to increase, what actually occurs within the body is that the blood tries to find its way to the lowest point,\u201d Hafeza said. \u201cSo in order for you to prevent that, the body against that, you have to execute what\u2019s called the Anti-G Straining Maneuver.\u201d<\/p>\n
Back on the ground<\/p>\n
After landing, I summed up the experience with characteristic honesty.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did it, guys. I survived. I got a little bit sick, but I didn\u2019t pass out. I was awake the whole time.\u201d <\/p>\n
Hafeza also acknowledged my toughness in the air.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was amazing flying with you. Thanks for being an absolutely really, really good sport up there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
For me, the flight was unforgettable. This was truly the experience of a lifetime. <\/p>\n
The Blue Angels airshow takes place this weekend at NAS Jacksonville. NAS Jax offers free admission and parking. Gates will open at 9 a.m., and the airshow starts at 11 a.m. <\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NAVAL AIR STATION JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 Jacksonville\u2019s beloved Blue Angels are back. The U.S. Navy\u2019s flight demonstration squadron…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":428502,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[13907,6919,116,118,117,2583,5436],"class_list":["post-428501","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-blue-angels","tag-features","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-news","tag-military","tag-morning-show"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428501","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=428501"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428501\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/428502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=428501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=428501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=428501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}