Milwaukee Air & Water Show: Planes, pilots sneak peak

MILWAUKEE - The countdown is on for the Milwaukee Air & Water Show as world-class performers arrive in town for an action-filled, three-and-a-half hour show along the lakefront this weekend.

Air & Water Show pilots

What they're saying:

On Thursday, FOX6 News took a behind-the-scenes look at what spectators can expect.

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"You'll know it, you'll feel it, and you'll hear it," said Brian Allendorfer, president of the Air & Water Show.

Pilots like Anthony Quadrani and Anthony Oshinuga will arrive at the 128th Air Refueling Wing to perform for the first time at the lakefront show.

"I'll be dropping the jumpers to kick the show off and do some showcase flying," said Quadrani. "It's a pretty big honor."

"We're going to be doing some things. They probably never seen before," Oshinuga said. "Sky is not the limit, there's no limits."

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FOX6 News got a behind-the-scenes look of the aircraft they will be flying.

Oshinuga said he'll be in a red Pitts S-1S. Quadrani said he'll be in a Beechcraft Model 18, nicknamed "Fred," originally built in 1941.

"The rematch parachute team and myself in this airplane, you'll see them jump out," Quadrani said.

But that is not all.

"People always ask me: Why the heck do you flip planes upside down and do all those things? I simply say I didn't choose this, aviation chose me," Oshinuga said.

"We have Many more civilian performers with us this year, and many of which no one has seen in this region seen before," Allendorfer said.

When is the Air & Water Show?

What you can do:

As the excitement takes off this weekend, the Air & Water Show is set to start at 11 a.m. and go until 4 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.

Organizers told FOX6 News more than 200,000 people are expected to show up throughout the weekend. If you are planning to attend, Milwaukee County Parks recommends getting there early to secure a spot.

Milwaukee Air & Water Show lineup

What we know:

Organizers said the listed performers include: 

• USAF F-16 Viper Demo Team (Saturday only)
• USAF F-22 Raptor Demo Team (Sunday only)
• USAF Heritage Flight | P-51 Mustang
• USMC MV-22 Osprey Demo Team
• USAF C-17 West Coast Demo Team
• USAF F-25A Lightning II | 115th Fighter Wing, Wisconsin Air National Guard
• USAF B-52H Stratofortress
• USAF B-1B Lancer
• USAF A-10 Thunderbolt II
• USAF KC-135R Stratotanker
• USAF C-130 Hercules

Portions of this article were formatted using A.I. FOX6’s Abril Preciado and an editor reviewed it for accuracy and tone prior to publishing.

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