RUTHERFORD COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — It was a packed house at Middle Tennessee State University Friday morning as two members of the U.S. Navy Blue Angels Flight Demonstration Squadron answered questions from the public.  

Oliver Moreira — age 9 — spent roughly two months preparing for the event and made a jet suit with his mom. He said the Blue Angels are one of the reasons he hopes to have a career in the skies one day.

“I like them because they do a lot of tricks and tricks that make me encouraged,” Moreira said, explaining his suit. “I can transform with it and it's really awesome and I get to impress a lot of people, and I hope one day I become a commercial pilot.”

Middle Tennessee native Mychael Kisling returned to his alma mater for the event, which was just down the road from where he attended high school.

“It's great. I love being here — coming back to Murfreesboro brings back a lot of memories, especially running track in high school and then coming here to college as well," Kisling said, who added that he now serves as an aviation electronics technician. "It was fun here at MTSU."

Kisling, along with U.S. Marine Corps Major and C-130J Demonstration Pilot Josh Horman, answered dozens of questions from the audience. 

"We're normally flying 250 knots, which is about 300-320 miles per hour when we're doing the break passes,” Horman said when asked how fast a "Fat Albert" plane could fly.

“Because it's very difficult and we want to showcase the precision of the pilots,” Horman said when another audience member asked about the Blue Angels' flight formations.

As the Blue Angels are expected to continue wowing people at the Great Tennessee Air Show this weekend, Moreira said that he did not want to wrap up Friday's event without sharing his advice to others.

“I have some advice for everybody that's watching,” Moreira said. “Never give up and you can do it if you have it in your mind.” 

Perhaps that's a sentiment the Blue Angels would also agree with.

The Blue Angels will perform at the Tennessee Air Show on Saturday and Sunday at 3 p.m. 

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/blue-angels-answer-questions-at-mtsu/