'It’s everything I remember:' Wisconsin man joins Blue Angels for his first hometown Air and Water Show

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- After being canceled for the last two years, the Milwaukee Air and Water show will be back this weekend.  

You may already hear loud jets flying by as they practice for the upcoming show on Saturday, July 23 and Sunday, July 24. 

The excitement set in for U.S Navy Blue Angels pilot Lt Griffin Stangel as he practiced ahead of the 2022 show.   

"Being able to fly any direction, upside down loops, pulling Gs," said Lt. Stangel. "It’s a sensation unlike anything else." 

Every year people look forward to the Blue Angels and they get excited to come here. 

"I get excited about any Midwest show. All the fans get all crazy. Even going out to dinner or breakfast, meeting everybody, they're like 'Oh, you're part of the Blue Angels,'" said Cathleen Henry, who does engine maintenance on the quality assurance team with the U.S. Navy Blue Angels. 

Henry and Stangel are team members on the U.S. Navy Blue Angels #7 plane. And they're both from the Midwest. Henry is from Illinois and Stangel is from Madison, Wisconsin. 

"Being able to fly over the Great Lakes again, it’s everything I remember," said Stangel. "It’s gorgeous, it’s just so good to be home." 

And he plans to have family in attendance for the show. 

"My mom and dad are driving over today. They’re coming into town, and then I’ve got some aunts, uncles, cousins from all corners of the state coming to check it out," said Stangel. 

You can see the Blue Angels pilots in the air around 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Here's a full list of planes and boats you'll see at the Milwaukee Air and Water Show this year.