LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Excitement is in the air as the planes are arriving ahead of Thunder Over Louisville this weekend.

The air show will include the B-52 Bomber, Swamp Fox — an aircraft with Kentucky roots — demos from the U.S. Navy's F-35 team and from the crew aboard the Osprey, a plane-helicopter hybrid. 

The fan favorite F-16 also arrived Thursday and is ready for takeoff again come Saturday.

If you haven't seen one of these in person, it's wroth it to come downtown just for this.

The pilot, Capt. Taylor Hiester, uses two words to describe it: loud and fast. So fast, it'll be traveling at the speed of sound.

"We're gonna have a really unique opportunity to showcase the maneuverability of the F-16 over the water and over the city, so there's a lot of vantage points that people of the town should be able to take advantage of the show," Hiester said. "I can't tell you how excited we are."

The aircraft is designed for air-to-air and air-to-ground combat. Its mobility is just one of the reasons hundreds of thousands of spectators enjoy seeing it in action.

"That's one of the reasons that this airplane keeps the enemy awake at night is that it can boot in the front door in the air regime and then we can also kick the front door on the ground, too, so to do that is something special and it's one of my favorite parts of the airplane," Hiester said. 

But it takes a team of nine people to make sure everything is in shape. And one of them, the Avionics Specialist, is coming back home for this show.

Staff Sgt. Austin Denny is from Mount Vernon, Kentucky. This is his very first Thunder Over Louisville and he said he can't wait to be able to experience the moment with his family.

"I'm really excited," Denny said. "I get to see all my friends and family come out and they're all super excited to see what I do in the Air Force and what the capabilities of the F-16 is. They've never really been to an air show so this is probably gonna be the first for all of them and they're all super excited and I'm glad to have them here, be here for their first air show."

The crew said their favorite part about air shows like Thunder Over Louisville is getting the chance to talk to the people who come out and watch them in action.

"When they see us flying it's just a machine, but when our team walks up after shutting the jet down they realize that this is a human endeavor and really an opportunity to show people that this isn't a miracle," Hiester said. "This isn't luck. This is people that give everything they have to something bigger than themselves to showcase the airplane and to make it available and combat ready."

The pilot uses two words to describe it: 'loud' and 'fast'

Other air show acts include:

  • U.S. Air Force B-1
  • UPS flyby
  • U.S. Coast Guard Demonstration
  • Kentucky Air National Guard STS (Helocast)
  • U.S. Navy MH-53
  • U.S. Navy E-2 Hawkeye Demo
  • U.S. Navy EA-18 Growler Demo
  • U.S. Navy Legacy Flight
  • U.S. Air Force B-52
  • U.S. Air Force KC-135 demo
  • U.S. Air Force C-17 demo
  • U.S. Air Force F-16 Viper demo
  • U.S. Air Force Heritage Flight
  • U.S. Army Reserve UH-60 (63TAB)
  • Kentucky Air National Guard STS (HALO)
  • Kentucky Air National Guard C-130J
  • German Air Force A-400M
  • U.S. Air Force Parachute Team Wings of Blue
  • Ohio Air National Guard (Toledo) F-16
  • Wild Blue Air Team
  • Britt Lincoln Extra 300
  • U.S. Marine Corps HMLA-773
  • Canadian Air Force CF-18
  • Indiana Air National Guard (Grissom) KC-135

Start your day with WDRB Mornings from 6-10 a.m. Saturday to know what to expect. Then stay with us all day:

  • 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.: Inside Thunder on WDRB
  • 11 a.m. to noon: Crossroads: The Making Of Thunder
  • Noon to 3 p.m.: Thunder on WDRB: Kick-Off
  • 3-8 p.m.: Thunder on WDRB: Air Show
  • 8-9:30 p.m.: Thunder on WDRB: Pre-Fireworks Show
  • 9:30-10 p.m.: Thunder on WDRB: Fireworks Show
  • 10-11 p.m.: Thunder on WDRB: Wrap-Up
  • 11-11:30 p.m.: Thunder on WDRB: Fireworks (R)

And to see the full list of interstate, surface street and bridge closures for Saturday in Kentucky and Indiana, click here.

WDRB personalities will be on both sides of the Ohio River bringing you all the people, planes and fireworks. Of course, you can watch on TV, but you can take WDRB with you.

The full day of broadcasting will be on our WDRB.com website, the WDRB News app, the WDRB+ TV anywhere app for your phone, and the WDRB+ streaming app on your Fire, Apple or Roku TV.

To learn how to download the apps, click here.

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