Dave Spencer goes airborne with the Blue Angels at Willow Run

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This Labor Day there will be an air show featuring the Blue Angels and getting a sneak preview, is FOX 2's Dave Spencer

But before he went up there, he had to prep which includes a demonstration on how not to pass out. The breathing exercise is designed to keep the blood from rushing out of brain by flexing every muscle in my body keeping me from passing out.  Even the pilot has to do it during flight.

"When the blood leaves your brain, that's when you get a little drowsy and tend to go to sleep in the back seat," said Lt. Brandon Hempler, a Blue Angel pilot.

The F-18 Hornets the Blue Angels use are capable of pulling 7 g's. That's seven times the amount of gravity that we feel just being alive on planet earth.
 
But pilots like Hempler are always preparing training their whole careers to fly to with the precision and timing to soar just inches away from one another in formation during their performance for an airshow.

"It’s teamwork, it is tradition, it is recruitment, it is inspiring a culture of excellence that's what the Blue Angels mean to me," he said.

Imagine riding the most intense rollercoaster for 45 minutes straight. That alone is pretty intense; now imagine piloting it while riding it simultaneously! 

"You can go up to Mach 1.8 that is the advertised speed," Hempler said. "It can move along pretty quickly but also can go pretty slow. These have been modified with inverted fuel tanks to fly upside down for extended periods of time which you'll see in the demo and also they can pull up to seven and a half g’s."

Make no mistake about it. These are war machines and while the Blue Angels put on an unparalleled show they are trained to serve and protect.

To watch more of Dave Spencer's wild ride, watch the video.

To see the Blue Angels in action, they will be at the Thunder Over Michigan Airshow at Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti Sept. 2-4. For more information CLICK HERE.