Bengals star flys with Blue Angels. 'I get to ride in that plane'

· Yahoo Sports

Cincinnati Bengals' Jordan Battle went to new heights Wednesday as he got to jet around with the high-flying Blue Angels of the U.S. Navy.

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The Bengals safety was selected to fly with the Blue Angels ahead of the Dayton Air Show, June 13-14. The Blue Angels are based in Pensacola, Florida, and are famous for their shows in addition to their flyovers around the Emerald Coast.

Battle suited up and strapped into the cockpit of an F/A-18 Super Hornet with U.S. Navy Lt. Ronny Hafeza on June 10. He caught up with WDTN-TV's sports director, Joey DeBerardino, saying the flight was like nothing he had ever experienced.

"It was amazing, just getting out here on the field, having the jitters come out early," Battle told DeBerardino. "Soon as he went up, he's talking to me, making sure I'm comfortable, making sure my energy's still there, and after that, he just kind of treated me like I'm his partner."

"I told him up there, I said, 'Fly with me like how you would fly with your partner,' and he was like, 'You don't want to do that.' I'm like, 'OK, you're right, let's not do that. But let's get close.' And it was a fun experience. And if you have the chance to do it, why not?"

Battle received the news the would fly with the Blue Angels while in the locker room, a June 6 TikTok video showed. After finding out the surprise, the fourth-year safety ran to grab wide receiver Tee Higgins to share the news.

"I've been selected for the Blue Angels. Dayton Air Show," he told Higgins. "I get to ride in that plane."

Higgins dapped him up, asking, "Can you invite me to come watch?"

Battle, who is entering the final year of his contract with the Bengals, said his Blue Angels experience wasn't necessarily a bucket list item, but rather a "once in a lifetime opportunity" he "could talk about forever."

"I'm pretty sure many people dream of doing this," Battle told DeBerardino. "I never dreamed of doing it until a couple of weeks ago, when I got asked to do it, which is pretty cool, pretty fun, and happy I came out and did it, because it was a fun experience."

When is the Dayton Air Show?

The 2026 CenterPoint Energy Dayton Air Show is an annual premier air show featuring the U.S. Navy Blue Angels, modern military, civilian aerobatics and historical aircraft.

This year's air show takes place June 13-14 at the Dayton International Airport in Vandalia.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Bengals star flys with Blue Angels before Dayton Air Show

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