He wore the San Diego police chief's hat for many years. We usually see him in suit and tie when he goes to his "day job" in City Hall.
On Friday, Jerry Sanders looked more like "Maverick" from "Top Gun."
San Diego's mayor couldn't stop smiling moments before he climbed into a fighter jet with pilots from Marine Air Corps Station Miramar.
"My wife told me not to touch anything," Sanders told reporters.
The mayor was taking his first flight in a military jet as part of the Centennial of Naval Aviation celebration taking place in San Diego this weekend.
"I don't get, excited about much, but I'm excited about this," he said looking more like a teenager getting his first sports car than a police and political veteran.
As for the flight suit: "It feels kind of weird, I feel like an impostor, " he said.
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The mayor said he has been on a submarine or an aircraft carrier but never a jet. So there are, understandably, a few nerves.
"I just hope there's no meal that comes up in flight," he said.
There will be current and historical aircraft participating in Saturday's Parade of Flight over North Island. The Blue Angels will lead the Parade of flight and will be followed by almost 30 historic Navy warbirds.
The U.S. Navy Leap Frogs will also be flying through the air and are scheduled for three separate jumps.
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