For once, and perhaps the only time in my career, I was approved for an orientation flight in an F-16. What that meant was that I could leave the cameras behind and experience and enjoy the moment. They didn't have to ask me twice. 

The day before the flight I had to stop by the Fighter Wing to get checked out both physically, and trained in the life support equipment. After a thumbs up from the flight surgeon, off to the 115th FW life support shop. There I got fitted with the G-suit that squeezed the lower half of my body to help prevent the blood from pooling down there when we start pulling Gs. Actually, the G-suit only increases your G-tolerance by 1 to 1-1/2 Gs. Most of the protection from losing consciousness is an exercise where when you start to feel the Gs build up, you first tense up your leg muscles, then your stomach muscles, then start pushing! The idea is to try to keep your blood in your abdomen, so your heart doesn't have to work as hard to pump it to your brain, so you don't pass out. 

After I got fitted and suited up with a G-suit, ejection seat harness, helmet, and oxygen mask, it was time to be trained in the use (and non-use) of the ejection seat and the location of all the cockpit controls and switches in the F-16. The life support technician training me said the hardest part of my flight would be getting in and out of the cockpit with all the gear on. Boy, did he hit that one right! Believe it or not, the cockpit of an F-16 is not as spacious as one side of a Cessna 152. I found out that you don't climb into an F-16, so much as you strap it on your back, or as the fighter pilots say: "There's enough room, but there isn't any extra!" Once strapped in the cockpit, and all the hoses and cords are connected, it does seem rather cramped. The instrument panel has holes cut in it to slide your legs through, and the ejection handle is right between your legs and only requires a 10 pound pull to activate. Below 10,000 feet, from pulling the handle to parachute deployment is 1.4 seconds.

 The following day the weather was absolutely beautiful which was good, and meant I got to do most of the flying. Accompanying me on my flight was Lieutenant Colonel Ted "Max AB" Metzger to protect the government's investment. During our preflight brief, LTC Metzger explained emergency procedures and ejection criteria, and gave me a nickel tour on flying the F-16 and using the Heads Up Display or HUD. In the front cockpit the HUD is a piece of glass onto which all the flight instrument information, as well as the gunsight, is projected. In the rear cockpit, which I occupied, the HUD is mirrored on one of the multi-function displays.

 The game plan was to depart Madison (full afterburner takeoff) then head to the Military Operations Areas (MOAs) around Volk Field to "demonstrate the performance" of the F-16 which are the code words for, prepare for the experience of a lifetime! 

After suit up, we headed out to the aircraft. Once in the cockpit I tried to settle down (you can bet this is pretty damn exciting, and we haven't even started the engine yet!), but the breathing resistance from the mask and the 02 regulator started to make me feel uncomfortable. At this point I started to think, "Oh great; we haven't even closed the canopy yet, and I'm getting sick!" Once I told myself to relax, the situation rapidly improved. 

After engine start and the before takeoff checks, we taxied out to runway 36 at Madison. LTC Metzger requested, and was granted an unrestricted climb to 10,000 feet after takeoff. As we got lined up, LTC Metzger asked "All set?" to which I assured him that I was right behind him. 

As we begin the takeoff roll, things were pretty much as I expected; brisk acceleration not unlike what you'd experience on a lightly loaded airliner. That soon changed. About 5 seconds into the roll, "Max AB" selected MAXIMUM AFTERBURNER! The acceleration from the 29,000 lb. thrust General Electric engine was incredible! I was pushed back in my ejection seat as if someone was sitting on my chest. My only thought was to pull my arms as close to my body as possible so I didn't do something like accidentally fire the ejection seat. 

We broke ground in less than 1,000 feet. After liftoff, we leveled off above the runway and accelerated. The fuel flow gauge at this time was reading 56,500 lb./hr. That's right, 56 THOUSAND pounds per hour! We only had 5,000 lbs. of fuel on board, so in maximum afterburner, our flight would last about 5 minutes! By the time we reached the departure end of the runway we were doing over 400 kts at 100 ft. above the ground. At this point LTC Metzger gave me a rather abrupt introduction to pulling Gs by way of a maximum performance climb. As we approached the end of the runway (at 400-plus kts), LTC Metzger pulled back hard on the side stick, and in a blink of an eye we were pulling 5.5 Gs, and climbing out at a 60-degree pitch attitude. One of my pilot friends who witnessed our departure from the Wisconsin Aviation ramp, described us as "going ballistic." 

The 60-degree climb, combined with the 30 degrees that the seat is reclined, means in the cockpit you are flat on your back going up, and straining against a force over five times the force of gravity. At this point I was pretty well disorientated because it is impossible for me to tell what direction we're heading with only blue sky visible out the bubble canopy. A heartbeat later LTC Metzger rolled the airplane inverted and pulled another 3 Gs to level us off at 10,000 feet, then rolled us upright, brought us out of burner, and said "OK Joe, the jet is yours if you want to fly!" The climb from the airport to 10,000 feet took 13 seconds. 

The short time it took us to get from Madison to the Falls MOA gave me an opportunity to get a feel for flying the F-16. The jet is a truly amazing piece of technology. The F-16 is aerodynamically very unstable, and if the triple redundant flight control computers all failed, the jet would go out of control in less than a half second. But those computers also make the F-16 very maneuverable and easy to control. It's very stable and easy to hold a heading and altitude, yet the stick is so sensitive that it seems you only have to "think" turn to make the jet turn. The responsiveness is instantaneous! 

What makes the job easy is the Heads Up Display. Projected on the HUD is the horizon line. Also projected is a tails end view of an airplane called the "velocity vector." The velocity vector, unlike an attitude indicator, doesn't show where the nose is relative to the horizon; it shows the jet's flight path relative to the horizon. That means to keep an F-16 level, just use the side stick to put the velocity vector on the horizon line. Piece of cake! 

I very quickly got used to the side stick controller. The stick is very sensitive, with no (to me) perceptible movement. You fly the jet with your fingertips and wrist, even when pulling Gs. I think even a private pilot could do a reasonable job of controlling the jet, except for takeoffs and landings. LTC Metzger told me in the preflight brief that the F-16 is indeed a very easy jet to fly, but it takes a tremendous amount of training and skill to effectively use it to its maximum capabilities. 

By now we've entered the MOA and it's time for the fun to begin. We are cleared direct to Hardwood Bombing Range, which is about a 100-degree turn to the right. Ted talks me through a typical F-16 turn which is 90 degrees of bank and PULL! As a general aviation pilot and CFI, I thought 90-degree banked turns were impossible. Well, I rolled the jet on its side and pulled. The G meter read about 5 Gs, and I started straining and my body was being forced down into the seat. Rolled out on our new heading, it was time to descend for the range. 

How do you loose altitude quickly in a fighter? LTC Metzger had me roll the jet "all the way on its back," and then the often used word on this flight, PULL! So I rolled us upside down and pulled about 3Gs worth. Before I knew it, we were in a 60-degree inverted dive out of 10,000 feet. A few seconds later a computer generated female voice said "Altitude! Altitude!" At that point I rolled the jet upright and pulled another 4.5 Gs to level us off at 5,000 feet, about 10 seconds after leaving 10,000 feet. 

I did some steep 360s over the range, then LTC Metzger took the plane and set us up for a low-level dive bombing run. I can see the target in the HUD. I can also see our speed creeping past 550 kts, and the radar altimeter unwinding to about 200 AGL at the low point. Here it comes! After the simulated bomb release and escape maneuver, I know this is going to hurt! A big pull on the stick by LTC Metzger and the G meter goes 4-5-6 up to 6.5 Gs and another zoom climb straight up. As my G-suit inflates, I strain against it as hard as I can, grunting and groaning like an old man. We come over the top at 8,000 feet, at which time it's Joe's turn to fly again. 

Next on the menu are some basic F-16 aerobatics. We set an entry speed for a loop at 500 kts. LTC Metzger talked me through it. About a 5G pull to get us going up. As we pull Gs, our airspeed bled off near the top to around 200 kts. At that point the jet began to shake a bit - its way of telling us that we don't have enough speed to pull a lot of Gs, or what civilian pilots would call a pre-stall buffet. High-performance fighter jets don't stall... they "depart" which is short for departing controlled flight. This is not a good place to be in an F-16, on your back at 10,000 feet, because you might hit the ground before you can regain control. So as the jet begins to shake, I simply eased up on the Gs, and let it come over the top. As the nose dropped through the horizon, our speed rapidly increased and it took about a 4-5 G pull to bring us out of the dive. After another loop and a couple of aileron rolls, LTC Metzger announced that we had enough gas for one more maneuver, then back to Madison. 

Since we're close to my stomping ground, Volk Field, I asked if we could do a low pass for my pals in the tower and base operations. LTC Metzger took the jet, entered the traffic pattern, and I got the chance to see Volk Field from a whole new perspective. After we departed Volk, I flew back to Madison, all the way to the right base for runway 18, at which time LTC Metzger took it for the landing. Because of other traffic, we were forced to make a steeper than 3-degree approach. With the power at idle, an F-16 glides better than a brick, but not as well as a Steinway. LTC Metzger put the jet down gracefully on the runway, bringing an end to one of the most memorable events of my life. 

As the canopy comes up, I safe the ejection seat, and start disconnecting myself from the F-16. I have to just sit there for a few moments and just kind of recover from what was a physically very demanding hour. I am clearly very happy that I had the opportunity to pilot one of the finest aircraft in the world. I am also very pleased that I had the chance to fly it while pulling several Gs on many occasions. And of course, I was especially pleased that the sick sack remained in the calf pocket of my G-suit through-out the entire flight. 

EDITOR'S NOTE: As with all Air National Guard units, the Wisconsin Air National Guard is often called to active service through-out the world, in addition to protecting the skies over the U. S.