PENSACOLA, FLA. – About 30 active-duty military members and reporters took to the sky Friday on a flight with the United States Navy Blue Angels C-130 Hercules “Fat Albert.”

The flight was a demonstration and practice run for today’s Pensacola Beach Air Show. Pilots demonstrated the aircraft’s capabilities through a series of steep climbs and high-angle bank turns.

The plane is part of the U.S. Navy’s elite flight demonstration team and is the support craft that carries equipment and personnel to the shows.

The airshow is a homecoming of sorts for some members of the team.

“The Pensacola Beach show is very unique for us because it’s not strangers we’re performing for,” Fat Albert pilot Capt. Katie Higgins said. “It’s our community; it’s our friends; it’s our neighbors, our postmen and our doctors. It’s amazing to be here and put on the show for our Pensacola family.”

The airshow begins at noon today, with the Blue Angels scheduled to begin their performance at 2 p.m. Acts scheduled to appear, aside from the Blue Angels, include Redline, Veterans Flight, Gary Ward, Kevin Coleman and Skip Stewart.