AUGUSTA — Maine Gov. Paul LePage will fly a fighter jet in an F-35 cockpit simulator Friday as part of an employee appreciation at Pratt & Whitney in North Berwick.

Joining LePage at the event will be U.S. Sen. Susan Collins and Maine House Speaker Mark Eves.

Pratt & Whitney employees manufacture parts for the jet engines that power the F-35 Lightning II, the new fighter jet that’s going to be used by the Navy, Marines and Air Force.

The company has three suppliers in Maine that have created 845 direct and indirect jobs with a total economic impact of $69.5 million in the state.