LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Thunder Over Louisville, one of the nation's largest airshows, will be here soon.
WHAS11's Taylor Woods and photojournalist Elijah McKenzie went behind the scenes to see how the pilots prepare for the big show inside UPS's Boeing 747-8f simulator.
"The airplanes are allowed to do things that they wouldn't normally be allowed to do," said Matt Creed, the air boss at Thunder Over Louisville.
More than 30 aircraft will take to the skies for several hours.
UPS pilot Captain Tony Osborne said there are two pilots and two safety officers in the aircraft.
The safety officers check for traffic to make sure no one collides.
"I would be back here, checking to make sure everything is where it is supposed to be, and also I'd be looking around for any stray aircraft that might be in the area," Osborne said.
The UPS Thunder Flight Crew is comprised of three UPS pilots. They were aboard Thursday to walk through the simulation.
The plane climbs about 45 feet in the air, traveling over the Ohio River and the Clark Memorial Bridge.
At times the plane was in auto pilot mode, eventually landing on the runway.
Creed said practice happens every Friday before the show so performers can see what the hazards look like and to practice their routine.
"We want to make sure if there is anything for example like on the bridge over there, nobody can be on the bridge when we do aerobatics so if we see somebody come out we tell the airplanes to stop what we're doing and so we can get the area cleared out," said Creed.
He stays in the command center to make sure there is a smooth show.
Creed emphasized that nothing can fly in the air without permission.
"It is just as illegal to fly a drone in the area as it is to fly an airplane in the area and the last we want is for somebody to run a drone out in the airshow box and cause a problem with one of our performers," he said.
But above all, the air show is something Creed and so many others look forward to before Derby.
This is the 34th consecutive year UPS has been the presenting sponsor of Thunder Over Louisville. The company is the largest employer in the city.
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