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Blue Angels Take To The Sky, Highlighting Bethpage Air Show At Jones Beach

WANTAGH, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -With a loud whoosh in the sky, the Blue Angels are soaring over Jones Beach as part of the Bethpage Air Show.

"It's tremendous [to be part of the Blue Angels]," Lt. Todd Royales told WCBS 880's Sophia Hall. "It is the thrill of a lifetime to be able to travel the country, representing over a half-million sailors and marines who are deployed around this world."

WCBS 880's Sophia Hall reports

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Royales is Blue Angel # 8, and he remembers that he first wanted to be a Blue Angel as a child.

"I could watch them from my parents backyard," Royales said, "and I said, 'One day I want to do that.' There's probably not a member on the team that wasn't influenced by this organization at some point during their childhood, and we'll hopefully plant that seed in the next generation."

The best part of being a Blue Angel, Royales said, is the reaction from the young and the young at heart, as they point and smile at the pilots overhead.

"We're all living the dream," Royales concluded. "Most pilots that come to the team have to have a minimum of 1,250 hours in an F-18, so we have plenty of fleet experience"

The Bethpage Air Show is taking place on both Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and the Blue Angels will kick off their performance each day at 2 p.m.

Have you ever seen the Blue Angels in action? Do you plan to check them out this weekend? Offer your thoughts and comments in the section below...

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