FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - Teams got in practice as a spectacle in the sky is set to soar over South Florida.
Friday was practice day ahead of the 2026 Air Dot Show in Fort Lauderdale Beach.
The teams could be heard in the air doing their practice runs in Fort Lauderdale and surrounding areas.
“From its slow-speed handling characteristics to its high-speed maneuverability, we think the crowd is going to be a pretty big fan of the show,” said Lt. Adam Wawro, an F/A-18 pilot.
The BFA 18 Super Hornets demo team is ready to roll and show off a powerhouse of military might.
“We limit ourselves to a .98 Mach number, so 98% the speed of sound; I would say that’s probably around 650, 700 miles an hour,” said Wawro.
Pilots described the feeling of watching other pilots speed through the sky.
“Being on the ground and seeing us rip by that fast, you’re going to feel it in your chest; it’s awesome,” said Lt. Hannah Pickett, another F/A-18 pilot.
The supersonic jets are just one of the acts, joined by the F-22 Raptors, which are the fastest and most maneuverable jets in the world.
“The aircraft has an uncanny ability to maneuver at will, so a lot of aircraft. You have to trade things off. ‘Do I want to go faster? Do I want to turn tighter?’ And the Raptor does a fantastic job of balancing all of those things,” said Capt. Nic Le Tourneau, F-22 demo team. “The best way I can think to explain it is flying a roller coaster where you get to make your own track.”
The Thunderbirds will also soar over Fort Lauderdale Beach over the weekend.
“Put on a spectacular 36-minute demonstration consisting of six of these F-16Cs that you see behind us, each one of them outputting about 29,000 pounds of thrust,” said Lt. Col. Tyler Clark, a Thunderbird pilot.
Florida Panthers player Matthew Kachuk also participated in Friday’s practice run.
“I just have so much gained so much more respect for the men and the women that fly these. It’s a lot like once you I still don’t really know the terminology, but once you hit like four or five G’s, like you can’t really like focus for a few seconds. So the fact that they’re able to do what they do and breathe during it, it’s it’s very, very impressive,” said Tkachuk.
Tkachuk went for an hour flight as the Thunderbirds ran through their practice.
“Matthew and I pulled 9 G’s today, so he was he was ready for,” said Lieutenant Colonel Tyler Keener, U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds.
The Air Dot Show celebrates the United States ahead of its 250th birthday.
“To showcase America’s history and how proud we are to be representatives, even on a small scale here at the show, is, like you said, just such an honor,” said Pickett.
The big show starts Saturday after 11 a.m. and runs until about 3 p.m. on Fort Lauderdale Beach. Tickets are still available.
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