Flight to Die For

Congratulations on your Incentive flight, said a fellow wingman. I didn’t know I had one, is this for real? For those who don’t know, an incentive flight is a privilege that’s earned through your hard work in the Air Force. It’s basically a ride along on an aircraft, and in my situation it was on a T-38 trainer jet that can pull over 6 Gs (Six times the force of gravity). My wife and kids were excited, but there was a problem, deep inside I was scared. I wasn’t sure I was gonna be able to do it.

I never thought I had a fear of heights, I always thought it’s more like a fear of falling and it has affected my love for roller coasters. The last time I was able to confirm this was on a ride at Seaworld. I made the mistake of getting in the first cart and as it slowly ascended I began to have second thoughts, my wife was next to me, she was having a good time and as I looked to the side, I saw ant size people throughout the park. I couldn’t even see the track we were on, as if we were floating all the way to the top. 

The cart stops at the highest peak, I feel the cold air of death caressing my skin; I turned to my wife and said “why am I doing this? Oh my god I can’t do this”. I was really scared, and it kinda sucks that this is my weakness, most people like my wife can do this and be chill, I wished I was more like her. So the cart leans in for the drop and I grasp the bar in front of me with all my might. I closed my eyes and as we’re dropping fast I let out what I thought was the manliest scream in the whole world. Later on I was told I sounded like a stuttering chipmunk.

Now, that you have a better understanding of my fear and shame, I’ll share with you this amazing one of a kind experience. I was with a group of “chosen ones” (that’s what I’m calling us) that had to pass a flight physical. Once we were all approved we were scheduled for a 4 hour training. The training consisted on what to expect, risks, flight controls, seat ejection instructions, how to use the parachute, safety precautions and lots more. It dawned on me the possibility of ejection and of course, it made me worry. In case something were to happen the pilot would say the word “Bailout” three times, and on the second bailout you should already be ejecting. The pilot ejects at the third bailout and if I fail to do it when I’m supposed to and we eject at the sametime, we would both crash. 

The day before the flight, they send us to get our flight suits and masks fitted. I tried on this g-suit that goes over my flight suit and it’s supposed to be tight. The g-suit is usually worn by fighter pilots when pulling positive Gs, it inflates and prevents blood from pooling in the feet and legs to avoid the loss of consciousness. After everything was sorted they introduced us to our pilots, all were there except mine and I was worried. I was hoping that this Top Gun/Tom Cruise looking pilot would come in last minute and crack a joke with a smile, and would tell me that he’s done this a million times and everything would be cool, but that’s only in the movies. 

Not knowing who my pilot was didn’t help me get a goodnight’s sleep. My flight was at 0830 but had to be there extra early to get prepped. We woke up at 4am, had a very light breakfast and drove to base. Got my GoPro Hero8 ready, said goodbye to my wife and kids hoping nothing would go wrong during the flight, and that I would get to see them again (I know, very dramatic). After all my gear is good to go, my pilot walks in. 

Tall dude with a sleek bald head, not Tom Cruise looking at all but still had that cool air around him. He was an experienced pilot and a very nice guy, which gave me a sense of relief. He asked if I was ready and I said hell yeah with overconfidence. As we walked side by side to the flightline I gotta admit, I felt like a badass. That glorious feeling started to fade away as I approached the jet, climbed the ladder to get into the cockpit, the space was so small and tight, reality hit me. 

Nope, I can’t do this. Oh my god what am I doing? I thought as I settled in and the marshaller helped me buckle up while he gave me instructions on how to close the canopy. I wanted to get out, so I kept thinking of what would be good enough of an excuse that wouldn’t make me look like a coward, but I couldn’t find one. My family is watching, the kids are proud of me and everyone kept telling me how this is an incredible opportunity that few people get. Reflecting on this I knew I had to suck it up, so I accepted the possibility that I would die there and that kept me calm (crazy isn’t?)

As the jet turns on and gets in position I listened to the pilot through the headset inside my helmet as he communicated with the tower. He instructed me to test the mask and I that I could increase the oxygen whenever. He told me that if we encountered a problem he would utter the magic word three times. I immediately asked him if he would please give me a heads up like, ok we are gonna have to eject. Just to prepare me for it, because what if he said it too fast or if I wouldn’t hear him and he ejected, or if I anticipated it and ejected prematurely, oh god I was freaking out again. To set me at ease he reassured me that he was gonna let me know beforehand. 

I got my GoPro set and now it’s time to fly out. My pilot asked if I would like us to take off straight up or normally and I was like what? Can we please do it normally? He laughed and said ok. The aircraft sped through the runway, I braced myself as it took off smoothly. I was mesmerized by the view as we flew gracefully over the gulf coast, it was an awesome feeling. As we got further out on the ocean we continued to ascend over 10,000 ft. I had to keep relieving the pressure in my eardrums by doing the valsalva to avoid rupturing it. I was having some pain on my left eardrum but doing that technique definitely helped. 

Besides it being an incentive flight it was also a combat training exercise for the F-22’s, (which I never got to see) so they basically had to chase and shoot us down (with lasers) while we implemented evading procedures. You’ll get to see in the video how disoriented I became, my pilot did a few barrel rolls and of course I puked a bit, luckily I was given a ziplock bag to do it in, which was strapped to my leg. There were a few issues that weren’t supposed to happen but still happened.

 My mask was functioning properly when I inhaled but for some reason I had trouble exhaling, there was resistance and It felt as if my mouth was covered with my hand. It took energy out of me, forcing every exhale during the rest of the flight. Another thing was that the hose from my g-suit was supposed to fill up with air to compress my legs, to avoid the blood pooling at my feet as we were pulling Gs. I’m guessing that’s what caused my body to go numb, I was about to pass out. I told the pilot what I was feeling and he said he would take it easy. After all that drama the most awesome thing happened, I got stick time! 

Not every pilot will offer you the chance to fly the jet, but damn was I lucky. He instructed me to grab the control stick and move it gently, I was excited so I turned it gently to the left and the aircraft immediately turned. Scary shit, I mean imagine if I pulled on it all the way. I placed my left hand on the throttle and he let me increase speed and then slowed it down to get a feel for it. He said to look for the other T-38’s and maintain formation. So, there were 4 other T-38’s to my left side and I had to stay with them, whenever they ascended or descended I followed them. I mean that’s crazy, I’m actually flying this thing. We were all flying together, camaraderie in the skies.

 It felt powerful, I felt better as I was in control, most of my symptoms went away and I was no longer afraid. When I pulled up I could feel the resistance on the control stick and the force of gravity that pushed me against my seat. For what it felt like ten minutes, I was a pilot, one of the cool kids. Flying alongside the other jets in formation I felt free, it was a beautiful view and a unique feeling that I cherish. I can now go back to that memory and relive that feeling anytime I want, I can’t put a price on that.

It was now time to go back to base, and he made me think I was gonna land this thing but he was just kidding, bummer right? But yeah, I didn’t want to get us both killed so it’s good that he took over. After he took control I was getting sick again, and as we were circling the base to land he decided to pull all the Gs he could on our last fly around base. The force of gravity pressed me hard against my seat, I thought I was gonna go through it. My cheeks were almost touching my ears, my chest felt like a dinosaur was stepping on it and I sounded like the loudest weightlifter in the gym. 

I was trying to do the technique for enduring Gs, I tensed my face and body and sucked in air in short gasps , hold and repeat. The reason for this is to keep the blood pumping to your heart and brain, and also to avoid passing out. It was a long turn that seemed to last more than it did, but as soon as he slowed down I felt like I got hit by a train, it definitely takes a toll on the body. 

I was worried about landing but was really looking forward to putting my feet on the ground. My GoPro had run out of charge halfway through the flight, so I wasn’t able to record some of the best parts. After a smooth landing we open the canopy as the pilot drives to it’s parking spot. I was so disoriented that it took me a while to get out of the cockpit, my torso and hands felt numb. I was able to get a photo with the pilot and a golf cart drove us out of the flightline, to turn my equipment in and tell my family all about it. 

I want to say that there were a few side effects. I felt exhausted because of the Gs, had Barotrauma which gave me a stuffed feeling inside my ears and it hurt. I also had loss of balance, vertigo, but all that was easily treatable and went away in a few days. 

Everyone that has gone through an incentive flight on a fighter jet has had their own experience, some good, others bad. Some get stick time and others don’t, I know I did and I’m grateful for it. My experience was mixed but I’ll always remember the good parts of it, when I wasn’t scared shitless. Overall, it was a fucking awesome experience and one that not everyone gets to have, would I do it again? Honestly, I think I would. 

Check out the video I was able to get while having the flight of my life.