SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. — If you spent any time in southwest Illinois Thursday, you probably saw them but if you didn't, you definitely heard them.
The Navy's iconic blue and yellow Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornets soared over the Illinois sky landing at Scott Air Force Base just before noon Thursday.
The Blue Angels are headlining the air show this weekend, their first show at the base in more than 10 years. It's up to the weather, but the current schedule has the Blue Angels flying at 3 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.
Ahead of the Blue Angels' arrival, "Fat Albert," the U.S. Marine Corps C-130 whale of a plane, touched down carrying supplies for the team.
"We flew from Pensacola this morning, nice and early," Pilot Capt Jackson Streiff said. "We carry about 35,000 pounds of cargo and 45 maintenance personnel everywhere we go."
On Capt Streiff's flight, Navy Aircrew Survival Equipmentman Brandon Franciscy, an Illinois native, is happy to be home for the weekend,
"Favorite part is coming to Air Shows, especially in my home state, so I'm going to have fun here, my mom and dad are coming down," Franciscy said.
According to Franciscy, the weather will be good for his mom, dad and everyone else watching.
"They call it Blue Angel weather so once they are ready to fly the sun comes out and when they are done it goes back to cloudy," Franciscy said.
It's always a spectacle when the Blue Angels fly overhead but we learned a tip for everyone watching this weekend.
"Keep your eyes on No. 5," Capt Streiff said.
"Just like M-1 said, look out for No. 5. People anticipate it is coming, but you never know where it's going to come from and it will surprise you," Franciscy said.