Army jets soar within the sky forward of Hyundai Air and Sea Present in Miami Seashore – WSVN 7News | Miami Information, Climate, Sports activities

By Marlan McCarthy Last updated May 24, 2025

MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) – An aviation sensation is set to take over Miami Beach this Memorial Day weekend.

Military jets roared across Miami Beach on Friday, prepping what many beachgoers will see at the Hyundai Air and Sea Show, Saturday and Sunday.

The loud sounds grabbed many beachgoers’ attention.

“This is crazy. I’m loving it right now, and it’s amazing right now,” said visitor Angel Lebron.

As he spoke to 7News, a jet flew over him, causing him to look up at the sky.

“Wait, you may want to catch that one right there. Hold on, hold on, hold on,” said Lebron.

Other visitors to South Florida kept their eyes on the sky as jets sliced through, Blackhawks hovered over the ocean, and elite soldiers jumped into the water to perform their techniques.

“We had no idea. We’re here from Kansas City, so kind of out of the blue,” said Jason Rogers. “I used to work on the KC135, and we saw those actually flying over earlier, so it was kind of nice.”

The Hyundai Air and Sea Show is the largest gathering of military equipment in the country, with all six branches of the military represented.

7News was at the Coast Guard base in Opa-Locka to get a closer look at some of the aircraft and to speak to the pilots who make the ultimate sacrifice.

“Day and night, in any weather condition, it can take off like a helicopter and fly like a plane,” said U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Bryton Seyfort.

“Just landing in a field somewhere, multitude of ways to get people where they need to be or get them out of that situation,” said Blackhawk Pilot Capt. Shawn Johnson.

“Pretty amazing formation where we get several different aircraft together, in a tight formation, flying together over Miami, over the coastline and the beach, and then doing a little show for the folks,” said USAF Capt. Michael Miller. “So, we’ll have all three bombers in the inventory together, with some fighter escorts next to us.”

For pilots and crew members all over the country, being able to showcase over Miami Beach is great. However, having it happen over Memorial Day weekend is not lost on them.

“There’s no better time than Memorial Day weekend to be doing that,” said Seyfort. “It allows us the time in the cockpit to reflect on why we do what we do, and what we signed up for.”

“It’s honorable,” said Johnson. “Especially when we fly the flags in the aircraft.”

“There’s a lot of history and different conflicts over time and a lot of heroes who came before us, especially in my platform and the other ones over here, who have lost their lives, and the history and heritage piece of it absolutely makes it kind of a surreal experience for us at times,” said Miller

Miller is from South Florida, and his family will be in the crowd watching.

Miller’s weapons system officer who is flying with him, Maj. Ryan McDaniel, also has a special connection to air shows.

“I was sitting there with my dad — I was probably 6 or 7 years old — and a B-52 flew over. Looking up at the sky, my dad looked down at me, and he said, ‘You can do that one day if you want to,’” said McDaniel.

Roughly 30 years later, McDaniel is flying in that same plane he saw at that air show years ago.

“Maybe there’s an opportunity that this weekend we fly over, and there’s another Air Force officer out there, and he doesn’t even know it yet,” said McDaniel.

Beachgoers in Miami Beach watching the practice runs said they are grateful for what these military servicemen do.

“I have military family, and some of them are on deployment right now, so I really appreciate the show, the free show, pretty much,” said Lebron.

The free air show will take place Saturday and Sunday between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m.

The best viewing areas are between First and 20th streets. For more information, click here.

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