Fat Albert has arrived above Pensacola, kicking off the summer Blue Angels performance on Pensacola Beach. For the next 50 minutes, here's what to expect.

The famous C-130J aircraft, affectionately known as Fat Albert, will be followed by six signature blue and gold F-18 Super Hornets, as they make their way over Pensacola Beach.

Spectators will get a glimpse of the U.S. Navy Blue Angels aeronautic maneuvers like the Diamond Dirty Loop, the Double Farvel, the Vertical Pitch, the Fleur-de-Lis, the Opposing Knife-Edge pass, and the crowd-favorite Sneak Pass. These are just a few of the mind-blowing displays of choreographed precision flying the Navy’s flight demonstration team has perfected over the past 75 years.

Rob Milford travels around the country announcing air shows. 

With a mic in hand, his deep voice reverberates out shows' audio systems for all attendees to hear — his delivery filled with childish enthusiasm for planes and adulation for those who pilot them. 

He is more than content with how he earns paychecks.

"I don't like. I love it," he said. 

He treasures the experiences of his days' work.

"Really," he said.  "I love it. I love it! 

Milford emceed the opening acts of the Blue Angels Airshow on Saturday. At the conclusion of his act, he was asked what he loved about it. 

He threw his arms out and with a beaming smile said, "Just look at his day." 

Young couples in bathing suits milled about and children were playing nearby underneath a bright Florida sun and clear sky. 

"These people," Milford said, referring to pilots, "risk their lives to put on a good show for these people.

"You saw three of the best pilots in the country here today," he said of the civilian acts.

He tries to announce about a half dozen air shows across multiple state lines per year. Saturday was the sixth or seventh time he has announced the beginning of the Blue Angel show on Pensacola Beach.

The Blue Angels have an in-house announcer pick up the mic when they take to the air.

Beth Welch's birthday wish came true this year, as she spent her special day at the Blue Angels air show with her 13-year-old son, CJ, and husband, Chris. 

Although she has become quite the Blues fan, she is more excited to share the experience with son, who dreams of joining the Navy when he is older.

"He's obsessed with the Navy, he loves planes," she said.

CJ said that he has been watching videos and learning about planes since he was just 8 years old, and the interest has stuck. Even though he has never seen them in person, his hopes are high for Saturday's show.

"It takes a lot to be a pilot, so I'm expecting it to be good," he said.

CJ plans to enlist in the Navy when he is older, especially the Navy Seals. His family said they are more than supportive of his dreams. 

"He's a smart kid," Chris Welch said. "Seventh grade and fourth in his class. Straight A's. We support whatever he wants to do."

As the Blue Angels prepare to take flight at 2 p.m., Jerry Crutcher, 78-year-old U.S. Marine Corp. helicopter pilot, reflects on just how magnificent the show truly is.

Crutcher spent 1965 to 1970 as an active-duty pilot in the Vietnam War, followed by the years 1970 to 1978 in the reserve.  He recalled how many of the maneuvers spectators see during the Blue Angels shows are actually used in combat. Many he used himself as if his life depended on it, because it did.

The way the military works is that it doesn’t come down to one person basking in the glory, however, it’s about the way a squadron works together.

“Nobody asked me to do it,” he said. “I did it because it was something that needed to be done…. We didn’t do it for people to say thank you or anything else.”

Even though Crutcher said it’s inevitable to step away from an experience like Vietnam and not be flooded with flashbacks when watching military planes take the air, he doesn’t let that stop him from keeping his eyes on the sky anyway.

“I think most people do (have flashbacks), but we deal with it,” he said.

One major support system he found was with his wife, Laverne, who joined him at the air show Saturday. 

“I don’t regret anything. My wife still gets mad at me,” he said teasing about her worry during his deployment. “But I still get to aggravate her for another 50 years, maybe 56. The wife makes it a whole lot easier.”

Flying all the way from Austin, Texas to see the Blue Angels, Maria Rivas and husband Armando Rivas have been chasing the Blue Angels around for the past six years. She will be the first to admit it, it's become somewhat of an obsession.

"If I had more money, I would follow them everywhere they go," Maria Rivas said. "We stalk them."

From Blue Angel earrings to painted fingernails, Rivas is up to date on all things Blue Angels and is confident that Pensacola Beach is the best place to get an up close and personal view.

Like the countdowns many people have in anticipation for Christmas, she has for Blue Angels weekends. For her, it really is "the most wonderful time of the year," she said.

"I love the maneuvers. They're real top guns, they really are," she added.

She credits her father for taking her to air shows ever since she was a little girl, giving her a greater appreciation for the art of flying. 

Even though she has seen the show plenty of times, she said there is still plenty of room for surprises.

"I'm always trying to catch that sneak pass," she said. "They always get me, but I'm going to be ready this time."

After watching the Blue Angels today, she said her family will be in no hurry to leave. As traffic lines the beach, her evening will be spent swimming, dining at a Pensacola restaurant and taking in the sunset. 

Blue Angel specialty license plates have been a success — flying off the shelves, out of Tax Collector offices and onto the back of vehicles across the state. 

The license plates featuring an image of soaring blue jets have been available for about a year, but in that relatively short stretch of time, Escambia County Tax Collector Scott Lunsford said they've been a hit. 

If an emblem of two oranges just isn't quite their thing, there are around 130 specialty Florida licenses plates that are available for vehicle owners to select when customizing their ride's looks. 

Lundsford, who was on hand Saturday at the airshow to answer any and all questions that spectators may have had about his office and its services, said that 5,947 Blue Angel license plates had been sold statewide since their release, making them currently the 74th most popular plate in Florida. 

Locally, the Blues' plates quickly climbed the charts too. 

In just one year, the Blue Angel plates became the No. 1 most common specialty license plate in Escambia County, decorating the tails of 2,656 vehicles. 

Every year, Blue Angel fans can count on finding booths sponsored by and promoting the varying branches of the U.S. military at air shows.

It's a certainty that the U.S. Coast Guard public relations department will set up shop somewhere on the sand, and the U.S. Marines Corps sends over a mobile pull-up be and several of its Marines to challenge passersby that they can't do more than them.

And the U.S. Navy PR people, well, come on. Who do you think is running the whole show? They most definitely have a booth too.

But this year's show features a newcomer.

NASA had a promotional booth at Casino Beach on Saturday featuring an outreach team from the Kennedy Space Center down near Orlando in Merritt Island.

"It's a little far from Kennedy," said Wayne Saxer, a NASA public affairs staff member.

But despite the distance, he added, the Blue Angels Air Show seemed like the perfect venue for his mission.

"The first A in NASA stands for aeronautics. So we wanted to find a large booth event like the airshow where we could engage with people and let them know what NASA is doing.

Airshow spectators who stopped by the NASA booth on Saturday got to hear all about the government agency's Artemis Program.

The program's goal is to return astronauts — including at least one woman and a person of color — to the moon for the first time in decades. 

The construction of a new type of rocket, tailor-made for new moon missions, has already been completed.

The program's leaders have target dates to send the rocket on an unmanned flight later this summer and to return people to the moon in 2025, according to Saxer.

For those growing weary of beachside activities, several vendors have set up shop on land to peruse, including Pensacola art business The Cabana Chandler.

Sisters Laura Witt Chandler and Elizabeth Chandler Lammers have turned oyster shells they have collected into pieces of art using hand-painted and decoupage techniques.

And yes, there is even a "Red, White and Blues"-themed oyster for purchase.

"Looking at them and seeing something, I feel like a sculptor sometimes. I’ll see a shape in the shell and just to paint it and bring it to life," Witt Chandler said. 

Witt Chandler has been an artist her entire life and paints larger canvases also.

"I can’t imagine seeing the world any other way," she said.

Replay:Blue Angels Pensacola Beach Air Show Friday live updates

The process is not a speedy one, as the sisters collect the shells, bleach them, sun-soak them, prime them and then decorate. 

Spectators looking to browse have left with arms filled with oyster art to take back to their hometowns following the show.

"I love them so much, that’s why I’m still here after 25 minutes," said Andrea Bailey of Boca Raton.

Anoukin Hermes of Baton Rouge was another onlooker turned customer, who walked away from the Cabana with oysters painted like flamingos, turtles, flowers and even a little girl.

Hermes said not only did the artwork catch her eye, but she appreciated that the stand was a female-owned, family-owned business.

"I love the originality. I love the fact that they took something from the ocean and nature and turned it in something that has multiple uses and is beautiful when you set it out," she continued. 

Those looking to see the oysters for themselves can stop by the stand or visit The Cabana Chandler online on Facebook and Instagram.

Need to know info:Blue Angels Pensacola Beach Air Show: What you need to know Saturday

As swimmers prepare for the start of the civilian acts for Saturday’s air show, Escambia County Chief of Water Safety Dave Greenwood said that lifeguards will begin clearing the water at about 11:45 a.m. 

The water will remain off limits for the duration of the civilian show until 1:20 p.m. 

Swimmers will briefly be able to go back into the water to cool off for a 25-minute window from 1:20 to 1:45 p.m. Then, the water will be closed again until 3 p.m. for the Blue Angels performance.

When the clearing process begins, Greenwood said there will be two lifeguards on wave runners headed toward the east, and one lifeguard on the water headed west. Additional lifeguards will be monitoring the coastline. 

The water will be closed to swimmers from Starboard Village to Avenida 18. 

Greenwood said keeping the waters clear is a continual process with a crowd of Saturday's size.

"Most of the people will respond, but you do have people that fall outside the curve and that’s why we have jet skis and wave runners," Greenwood said.

Greenwood asks that beach visitors make themselves aware of when the water will be cleared and plan accordingly.

As beachgoers have been in direct sunlight for several hours now, some have found refuge in Bear Fruit Bowls and Coffee, an açaí store alongside the pier.

The line wraps around the side of the building around 9 a.m. as employees scoop out one after another of the "Blue Angel Special" — a fruit bowl topped with blueberries, pineapple, mango, nut butter and a sweetener.

Whether it's the fans blowing inside or the free jug of ice water to pour from, business has been incredibly steady. 

"Bowls had to have been over 100 — nonstop in two hours. By far it's the busiest we've ever been. At one point we had a line to the parking lot," Bear Fruit owner Ryan Ford said at about 9:30 a.m. 

Pensacola blogger Christian Lawrence, founder of What's Up Pensacola, said Bear Fruit has one of her favorite smoothie bowls in town. Plus, she wanted to try the Blue Angel special Saturday.

"I don't know what better place to go, a coffee to get the day going and a smoothie bowl to cool down and enjoy the chill vibes here," Lawrence said.

Not everyone planned to be at the popular Blue Angels Pensacola Beach air show. Sometimes, a guy just gets lucky.

Maverick Siebert stood on the pier overlooking Pensacola Beach and cast his fishing line into the green and clear Gulf of Mexico water several hours before the start of the Blue Angel Show. 

Siebert, 14, flew into town from San Antonio for a long weekend of light fishing and vacation time with his family. 

"We just got lucky with the air show," said Todd Siebert, Maverick's father.

Although, the Siebert family hadn't known or even anticipated there being an airshow this weekend, they were excited about the possibility of attending once they landed in Pensacola and heard about it. 

"My wife has a spot on the beach down there she's saving for us," Todd Siebert said, pointing to the canopy of beach umbrellas below the pier. 

Siebert acknowledged the humor in his being at an airshow — featuring aviators piloting fighter jets — with a son named Maverick in tow. 

"It's kind of funny," Todd Siebert said, but was quick to explain that his son was not named after Tom Cruise's famous character in the movie Top Gun. 

"We needed a name with an 'M,' and we were having a hard time coming up with one we liked," Todd Siebert explained.

Their family tree is filled with males sporting first names beginning with the letter M. 

One morning while he and his then-pregnant wife were together in a parking lot, they heard stranger calling out to an acquaintance, Todd Siebert recalled. "He was yelling 'Maverick! Maverick, get back over here!'" 

The name sounded great to the Sieberts. So, they named their baby Maverick. 

On the pier Saturday, Maverick was fishing for Tarpin. 

If there was any fish in the world, he'd like to catch, "It's a Tarpin," Maverick said. 

He snagged one earlier in the day, but the fish threw the hook before being reeled in. 

Casting his bait off the pier into the waves blow, Maverick was searching for a second shot at his covet prize before the Blues took to the skies. 

What started out as a pandemic impulse buy has made Kendall Foust one of the most popular people on the beach. 

Foust purchased a manual espresso press as a fun way to make coffee off the grid and decided to bring it along for Saturday’s show.

After early morning camping on the beach, Foust made his first cup around 9 a.m. and his beachside neighbors began inquiring about the process. 

“Dude, your commitment to coffee is admirable,” Cory Bennett said, looking on from a tent away. 

Not long after finishing his own, he began offering up shots of his Rwanda blend to the strangers around him, offering to keep going for as much is left in the bag.

Foust explained how his press carries the same power as one you would see in a coffee shop but is hand-powered. He does get a little help from his Jet Boil, which gets the water nice and hot.

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Though he may get weird looks for making hot coffee on an 88-degree morning, Foust said temperature does not have any influence on his coffee drinking habits.

"I'll take coffee any day, any way," Foust teased.

Are you arriving to the airshow late? 

Can't find a spot on the sand? Don't worry. There's a trick, of sorts — to sort your situation. 

While the sand on the east side of the Pensacola Beach Gulf Pier is jammed pack, the beach on the west side of the pier still has wide open stretches on available space ripe for the choosing. 

Mike Hamby tagged along to the airshow on Saturday with a small group of friends who he said are annual attendees. 

"They come every year, and I think they always go to the other side," Hamby said, referring to the sand west of the pier. 

"It's not as crowded. Over here," he said, motioning to the east, "looking at it, not everyone has a great view. 

"But over there," he continued, looking toward the western side of the pier, "there are a lot of open spaces, and everyone has a great view." 

When a group of a dozen or so friends composed of mid-20s to early 30s saw the Pensacola waves crashing into their tent in the middle of the night, they knew they were going to have to find a fast solution.

"We're like, 'what's he doing?'" Jordan Williams  recalled, as he looked over and saw his friend building a moat out of sand.

"Just trying to keep you guys safe, man," Jacob Rosas called back.

The plan went better than expected, as they secured themselves a Gulf view spot as the crowds grew throughout the early morning, with all of their belongings safe from the water.

They even were able to see some marine life during the construction process as they caught a glimpse of bioluminescence at 2:30 a.m. 

As each tent takes on its own identity from its hosts, Williams' space was decked out in patterned tapestries and a cooler full of food and Jell-O shots.

"Everybody comes out, they know what's going on," Williams said.

A group of around 20 Pensacola Beach lifeguards could be seen loading up pickup trucks with safety equipment before heading off to take up their posts Saturday overseeing the safety of beach goers. 

Pensacola Beach Water Safety Chief Dave Greenwood said his lifeguard teams were "extremely motivated" and happy to be working "the showcase event" that is the Blue Angels Airshow.

"They understand the importance of safety," Greenwood noted. 

Surf conditions are expected to be relatively calm Saturday. 

Green flags were flying over the beach has of 7:45 a.m.

"Everything depends of what the Gulf is doing," Greenwood said, about beach-safety conditions. 

But while green flags indicate there is a lowered risk of rip currents, that does not mean that swimmers should not be cautious. 

"We're not saying it's safe. Green flags don't mean you should say, 'Oh, it's green! It's safe!'" Greenwood said. "Flags are meant to be a measurement of the risks — not the safety." 

He added, "If you don't know how to swim, you should not go into the Gulf of Mexico. 

"That would be a very bad idea," he continued. 

Lifeguard staffing numbers have been increased considerably — nearly doubled -- for the airshow. 

On a typical summer day, there are around 25 lifeguards patrolling Pensacola Beach. 

There are approximately 50 lifeguards on duty for the Saturday show. 

Lifeguards responded to several minor heat injuries at the Friday show but no major injuries or incidents, according to Greenwood. 

Pensacola couple Megan and Nick Pargoff, who made the trek out to camp out at the beach in the middle of the night to arrive at 2:30 a.m., have learned that Blues weekend isn't all about the show, but what happens before.

For the younger generation, the all-day beach hangout is becoming a must-do event even for those with little interest in aviation.

"Especially for the younger group who use it as a social scene. I think a lot of people see it as a beach festival more than a show," Megan Pargoff said. 

The camp-out started out feeling like they arrived to the party early, as they reclined their yard chairs and caught up on sleep. But as people started trickling in, the excitement built. She said she expects the social scene to grow as people around them start socializing and the drinks continue flowing.

"Drinks. Yard pong. Music. Drinks," Megan Pargoff said of her agenda for the day.

Nick Pargoff added that next year, the couple wants to take the experience a step further by camping for the full night. But, he does think he'll take notes from his beachside neighbors and bring a sleeping bag the next time around. 

As the designator place-holder to watch all of her friend group's belongings, Savannah Blacklidge got a lot of action from her curbside vantage point.  

As sheriff deputies continued to detour visitors from the filled parking lots, Blacklidge witnessed a collision right in front of her while she was talking to a deputy to pass the time.

"I was talking to the officer, the car pulled out in reverse and (started) ramming right into the person right there," Blacklidge said motioning to the vehicles across the intersection.

Even though she got an early start and headed to the beach at 5:30 a.m. from Perdido, she said she definitely wouldn't have wanted to get there any later. 

"Things are getting crazy out there," Blacklidge said.

Blacklidge said the craziness is worth it as she is excited for her first-time experience.

It’s going to be a hot one.  

The National Weather Service Mobile is predicting a high of around 90 degrees for Pensacola Beach on Saturday, but that’s not counting the humidity.  

“It’s pretty humid,” said meteorologist Don Shepard. 

Down by the water, there was a 100% humidity factor of 6:45 a.m., and although the humidity was expected to decrease to around 50% or 60% humidity as the morning progressed, Shepard noted, “But that’s still pretty humid, and it’s still going to be pretty muggy.” 

When the high temperature is combined with the day’s humidity, beach goers at Airshow should expect it to feel as like 105 degrees outside.  

There is a chance that some showers and thunderstorms may pass over Pensacola Beach around 9 or 10 a.m. before moving more inland in the afternoon.  

The beach was expected to experience 5 to 10 mile per hour southwesterly breezes throughout the morning with afternoon sea breezes strengthening to around 10 to 15 miles per hour.  

“The conditions are conducive to water spouts this morning. We don’t know that we’ll get any. But there is a potential that we will,” Shepard said. “There were similar conditions yesterday morning, and we didn’t see any.” 

There was a virtual forest of beach umbrellas, tall tents and makeshift shelters on Casino Beach by the time the sun rose Saturday morning over the Gulf of Mexico. 

To get a good viewing spot to see the Blues, would be spectators arrived throughout the early morning hours.  

However, to get what perhaps is one of the most coveted viewing locations — exactly on the edge of the waterline at high tide — the Taylor family took their arriving early to whole other level.  

“10:30,” Patrick Taylor said. “Last night. Yeah, we got here at 10:30 last night.” 

Patrick Taylor, his wife, Jennifer Taylor, their eldest daughter, Elise Taylor, and her boyfriend, Joseph Kilcoyne, arrived on Casino Beach at 10:30 p.m. Friday night to secure their ideal viewing location for the 2022 Blue Angels Airshow.  

They came equipped with two tents, multiple chairs and several large coolers, and their personal little compound sat about three feet from the water.  

“We brought tents, chairs to sleep in, slept on the beach and the next thing you know it was sunrise,” Patrick Taylor said.  

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This is the eighth year in a row that Patrick and Jennifer have attended the airshow together. The Pensacola couple said that they always arrive the night before for a chance to enjoy the show from the best vantage point possible and “just a chance to be around the Blues,” Patrick explained.  

“I slept better last night than I usually do, probably because we had the chairs to sleep in this time,” Jennifer said.  

“Yeah, sometimes, we’ve just had to sleep on the beach,” Patrick added, referring to the sand.  

They said that there were around 100 people who had the same idea as they did and spent the night on the beach. 

“When we went to sleep, there were some tents around, but by the time we woke up there was all of this,” Patrick said, pointing to the forest of beach umbrellas.  

Lisa Wingate hit the road for Pensacola Beach with friends at 4:30 a.m. Saturday morning headed to watch the Blues from Mobile, Alabama. 

When it came to making preparations for the day in the sun, good snacks, of course, were at the forefront. Wingate said she spared no expense for a day watching the Blues —a show she has not seen in 15 years.

"I feel like I'm on vacation," Wingate said with a giggle. 

Some last-minute splurges included a brand-new beach bag and the item she may be most proud of — a homemade charcuterie tackle box.

Little cubes of pickles, candies, nuts, meats and cheese filled the fishing container. The tackle box was packed away in a cooler as her group hauled it from the pavement to the sand to start the day.

"A whole lot of time and money went into making it, so I'm excited," she said.

The Merriman family set their hopes high on seeing the Blue Angels fly ever since making the move to Birmingham, Alabama from their home country of New Zealand just a few years ago.

Tony and Marilyn Merriman spoke excitably through rich New Zealand accents of how they originally tried to see the Blue Angels fly in 2019, but inclement weather stood in the way. Now the day is finally here three years later, and they have come with coolers and fold-up chairs in hand, eager to see the beauty of Pensacola's beach and the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels. 

Just after 5 a.m., a steady flow of cars crossed the Pensacola Bay Bridge heading to the beach, but traffic was still moving. By 5:30, however, the Casino Beach and the Quietwater lots were already full, according to the Escambia County Sheriff's Office, and the agonizing search for parking has already begun. By 6 a.m., Pensacola Beach was already packed with people and tents.

The Pensacola Beach Air Show dress rehearsal, including a handful of flight demonstrations and civilian aerobatic performances, begins at approximately 11 a.m. today, with the Blue Angels flying at 2 p.m.

'You have to be there':Veterans, visitors and locals flood Pensacola Beach to see Blues

'It never gets old':Spectators pack Pensacola Beach Friday for Blue Angels dress rehearsal show

At 2 p.m., look to the Gulf horizon as a famous C-130J aircraft, affectionately known as Fat Albert, followed by six signature blue and gold F-18 Super Hornets, make their way over Pensacola Beach.

For the next 50 minutes, spectators will get a glimpse of the U.S. Navy Blue Angels aeronautic maneuvers like the Diamond Dirty Loop, the Double Farvel, the Vertical Pitch, the Fleur-de-Lis, the Opposing Knife-Edge pass, and the crowd-favorite Sneak Pass. These are just a few of the mind-blowing displays of choreographed precision flying the Navy’s flight demonstration team has perfected over the past 75 years.