Milwaukee Air Show Returns With Blue Angels' First Female Combat Pilot

MILWAUKEE, WI — Milwaukee's lakefront will soon be overrun by the sounds of jets and propellers whooshing overhead, while crowds of people look in awe at the sights above.

Saturday and Sunday will mark the 2023 Milwaukee Air and Water Show featuring the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels and a host of other aircraft, helicopters and more. This year's performances will "ride the waves" of a record-breaking show last year, organizers said.

You'll find the excitement along McKinley Park and Bradford Beach at Milwaukee's lakefront, and hear it before you see it. Practice flights begin on Friday, letting everyone know who's in town.

The water show runs from 10-11:30 a.m. both days, while the air show is scheduled for 12-4 p.m. with the Blue Angels appearing around 3 p.m.

Military performances scheduled include the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels with their FA-18 Super Hornets and their C-130 dubbed "Fat Albert." The Navy is also bringing a P-8 Poseidon.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Air Force will show off their F-16 Viper Demo Team, and the Wisconsin Air National Guard will show off their KC-135 Strato-Tanker. Also, the U.S. Coast Guard is bringing helicopter demos.

On the civilian front, attendees can expect acrobatics shows from Trojan Thunder, a parachute team, a North American B-25 WWII Bomber and several more propeller planes.

You can find a full list of the scheduled performers at the Air and Water Show's website.

This year's show will welcome the first female fighter pilot for the Blue Angels in its 76 years of history, according to a news release from the air show.

"Lt. Lee was named the first-ever female fighter pilot to become a Blue Angels team member, after the squadron has gone for decades without a woman in the cockpit of an F/A-18," reads the news release. "Lee, of Mounds View, Minnesota, will be the first woman to fly in formation as a Blue Angels demonstration pilot. She will pilot a F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and perform death-defying maneuvers above crowds of thousands all over the country, and Milwaukee during the Summer of 2023."

The air show calls the performances, which began around 2002, a grassroots event and a "masterpiece of sound and color that showcases the role of aviation in the community, the history of air power, provides a forum for educating young people about aviation, and encourages the natural excitement these upcoming generations have for flight."

“Every year, the Milwaukee Air & Water Show brings world-class military and civil acts to the city for a spectacular air show. The support from our Presenting Sponsor, WaterStone Bank, and all of our other sponsors, is vital. We are incredibly grateful for their ongoing commitment to our community and are thrilled to see the Navy Blue Angels back in action again next summer,” said Paul Rogers, president of the Milwaukee Air & Water Show, in a news release. "We are especially excited to see Lt. Amanda Lee show off her incredible piloting skills to our event spectators. It will be a thrilling and historic moment for Milwaukee to see the Navy Blue Angels' first female pilot fly over the Milwaukee lakefront.”