Flight With Blue Angels: Fat Albert

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The Fargo AirSho is just hours away now and thousands are expected at Hector.

It’s not what you typically think of when the Blue Angels comes to mind.

It’s a Lockheed C-130 Hercules that goes by the name “Fat Albert.” But don’t let the appearance fool you. It’s a wild ride.

“It was a lot of fun being able to see what this bird can do,” says Meghan Jones of the USMC.

Meghan Jones has been in the marines for two years. This is her first ever air show experience and she had a special seat on Fat Albert.

“When the sergeant picked me to be in that hot seat next to the window I was ecstatic I don’t normally get sick or anything with heights,” Jones says.

And although Fat Albert is much larger than the Blue Angels jets, it’s still a dynamic flight. So much so that you’re handed a motion sickness bag when you walk onto the plane.

“We do a series of tactical maneuvers lower to the ground so the crowd can see them,” says Aircraft Commander Major Mark Hamilton.

Major Mark Hamilton of Becker, Minnesota is the brave pilot of Fat Albert. He has a spot on the Blue Angels, one of the most coveted positions in the world.

“It’s a great privilege to be one of the Blue Angels. The fact that we go around and we get to represent the 500,000 Navy and Marine Corps active duty personnel is an extreme privilege that we don’t take lightly,” Hamilton says.

When riding on Fat Albert, passengers get to experience 2 G-forces… feeling double your body weight, and negative G-forces, feeling completely weightless.

“When we did the first taking up and that little settling thing I was like oh this isn’t that bad. So I had a lot of fun,” Jones says.

A true once in a lifetime experience.

The Fargo AirSho is this weekend. Gates open Saturday morning at 9 and the show featuring the Blue Angels starts at 11.