Pilot Vicky Benzing gears up for stunts at Miramar Airshow

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) -- The Miramar Airshow returns to San Diego this weekend with thrilling aerobatics, military stunt shows and more at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.

Returning aerobatic pilot Vicky Benzing joined the FOX 5 morning show to discuss what it feels like to be up in the air.

"It's my own little world in the cockpit," she said. "Once I step into the cockpit, that's just my space, it's my office and I go up there and do my thing."

Benzing said she loved riding the Big Dipper in Belmont Park as a child and loved the feeling of being upside down. Although she said aerobatics is not quite like riding a rollercoaster, she thinks of it as a "giant ballet in the sky."

She also said she feels honored to serve as a role model for young girls who have an interest in flying.

"I know that as a young girl or young woman, I looked up to other women, and I think it's important to have role models and it's important to have examples of women doing things and showing that other young women can do that too," Benzing said.

This weekend, at the Miramar Airshow, Benzing will be flying "Plum Crazy," a P-51 Mustang fighter plane built shortly before the end of World War II.

The Miramar Airshow takes place Friday, Sept. 26 through Sunday, Sept. 28.

Watch the full interview with Vicky Benzing in the video player above.