Giving a non-pilot a ride in a fighter is one of the least favorite things we did in the military, unless you enjoy wasting 20,000 lb of JP-4 for no training, and breathing 100% O2 to try and negate the barf fumes. Occasionally, though, you get a good one.
Years ago, I showed up for an F-15 LOWAT (Low Altitude training) mission brief to find a petit, female ROTC cadet in attendance. I've got the tub, and she's mine for the ride. Yuck. A quick check of her physique reveals what I estimated to be an early barfing, 3G body.
LOWAT is unique in a fighter in that available power and G is enormous. The engines have all the air they need, and the jet can sustain max G all day until it runs out of gas. Simple tactical turns LOWAT are often 5 to 7 G. I thought the flight was going to be a disaster.
Out to an Alabama LOWAT range. No barfing on departure... she's talkative, and doing well. So far so good. Time for a TAC turn at 500'... we go easy at 4G. Looking back, she's digging it, another thumbs up. I'm impressed. We execute a few more warm up turns, 5, 6, 7G. Every time I look back, I get a big thumbs up.
I split #2 off to the north, and we run some intercepts, followed by a guns track exercise. I'm laying everything I've got on this girl. I'm frankly shocked at how well she's done. Usually this profile would reduce a hulking ROTC football player to puking jello. But I'm also a bit suspicious. Towards the end of the ride, I took it up to 5,000' and flew a continuous circle with incrementally increasing G, while I watched her over my shoulder. 2G, 3G, 4G, then her head collapses on her chest. I ease up; her body does the funky chicken as she awakens, just like this guy in the video. After the spasms subside, she gives me a big thumbs up and a "cooool!" on the intercom. The poor girl had been unconscious for much of the ride. She was indeed a 4G body, but enjoyed it so much, it was amazing. No barfing either, I have to give her big credit on that.
I also have to take a hit for not noticing sooner. It was laziness on my part, but we were not doing defensive BFM, and the need to check 6 under 7 or 8G wasn't there on this mission. To this day I wonder how many of her brain cells I killed on this ride. :0
