What it's like

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Imagine you’re sitting in the cockpit of a T-38 Talon fighter jet, thousands of feet in the air and pushing over 300 mph. Your hands are sweaty, your heart is pounding, and the force of every bank and dive throws you back into the seat. Then the pilot offers you a chance at the wheel.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Josh Anderson takes to the sky.

Jared Anderson knows the feeling.

Anderson, Topeka senior, got the chance to ride along with the 435th “Black Eagles” Fighter training squadron in San Antonio, Texas, last semester while he was with the KU Air Force ROTC. He and three other cadets rode along on a training flight, experiencing the thrill of flying in a fighter jet and even mock dogfighting.

Anderson even got the chance to pilot for a short time while flying in formation. He was nervous, he says, worried about impressing the pilot, knowing that the lightest touch of the joystick would send the plane off course. He says the feeling was exhilarating. “It’s probably like the coolest thing I’ve done in college,” he says.

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