Milwaukee Air & Water Show practice, pilot discusses performance

MILWAUKEE - The official practice for this weekend's Milwaukee Air & Water Show was held Friday, July 21. 

At McKinley Marina, some of the pilots explained what they're doing up there while crowds watch down below. 

"I am going to show you how fast the jet can go," said Aimee Fiedler, pilot and commander of the F-16 Viper demonstration team. "At one point in the show I am going to climb from 300 feet to over three miles in less than 10 seconds."

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Fielder makes that look easy.

"I am pulling about nine times the force of gravity, 15 times," she said. "A lot of mental and physical energy to stay awake under the amount of G-forces that I am pushing."

2023 Milwaukee Air & Water Show practice

Fiedler said what keeps her focused in the sky is the group of people watching below.

"If the crowd is cheering they are going to tell me, ‘Hey the crowd loves that maneuver,’ and that keeps me going to perform a very good show for you guys," she said.

Fiedler is just one of the many crews making it a show to remember. 

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"It’s really not until I go back and high-five my crew when I get off the jet after a successful show, then I realize, ‘Wow, that was pretty cool what I just did,'" she said.

The pilot also hopes the show inspires others.

"It should be a symbol that anyone out there can do this job, as long as they are qualified and possess the hard work ethic to make it here," said Fiedler.