Pulling G's is strenuous. One minute my 150 pound body weighed 900 pounds as I horsed plane's nose around for a shot at my opponent, and next I weighed minus 300 and my eyes were bulging as I shoved stick forward during a solo aerobatic maneuver.

"A lot of people don't believe it's real when they first hear about us," Ransbury says. "They think they'll be in some kind of simulator." One key to FCI's success is versatility: besides thrill rides, company offers pilot training in emergency maneuvers and is building an excellent reputation. In early 2003, FCI moved into some snazzy new hangar and office space at its Arizona home base, Williams Gateway Airport in Mesa, Arizona. I was skeptical when first told about FCI's special corporate team-building events, given fierce rivalries involved in fighter combat. However, B.J. says it's a hugely successful program, and clients go home with increased confidence and big smiles on their faces. He founded company to give public an authentic look into life of a fighter pilot, and that's what they get.

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By Rob LaGrone - Jetsetters Magazine Correspondent at www.jetsettersmagazine.com

I love smell of jet fuel in morning! Plenty of it was burned on this occasion. The Red Bull MiG-17Red Bull MiG-17, an old Russian jet fighter now resplendent in a bright red paint scheme, wowed crowd with its sweeping turns and dives. Then an even older American fighter, an F-86 Sabre flown by retired Navy pilot Dale "Snort" Snodgrass, was not to be outdone. The new C-17 Globemaster transport, while not an agile fighter, showed some nice moves and amazed me with its quiet engines. I couldn't hear plane flying by because of little Honda generator powering nearby camera truck! That wasn't a problem with next performer, an Air Force F-15C air-superiority fighter.

F-15E Strike EagleThis jet, with its two huge afterburning turbofan engines, shakes ground as it flashes by, just above runway and just below speed of sound.

Earlier I had spoken with a pilot of F-15E Strike Eagle, an impressive all-weather ground attack version of plane. He clearly liked his jet better than pure air-to-air version, and I agree. My own background is in Navy attack jets, and I figure any time you can take a great fighter and hang big honkin' bombs on it, you've done a beautiful thing.

Heritage FlightEven today, flying isn't just jets. Special propeller-driven stunt planes flown by well-known performers Patty Wagstaff and Jim "Bulldog" LeRoy mesmerized us with their maneuverability.

These small aircraft turned on a dime, and often they became invisible in their own colored smoke trails as they repeatedly covered same small patch of sky.

Speaking of fancy flying, this air show also saw unveiling of U.S. Aerobatic Team, which will compete at World Aerobatic Championships in 2003. Next year should be a great one for aviation.

Few things sound as sexy to me as throaty roar of an old propeller-driven fighter plane. In afternoon we had Las Vegas-style Unlimited Air Racing, with some of fastest prop planes ever flown. These are old fighters with sleek new low-profile canopies and souped-up engines, and they are blindingly fast. They raced a circuit around runway in front of us, lead changing hands several times as they rounded turns very low to ground, their wings banked almost to vertical. Fantastic!

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By Rob LaGrone - Jetsetters Magazine Correspondent at www.jetsettersmagazine.com