What stands out most during your first flight with the Breitling Jet Team is not the climbs, descents, loops, and barrel rolls but rather how it's all done with six other aircraft 10 feet away.
I was moderately restless the night before, with wide-eyed visions of my face rippling from the g-forces, wondering if this would be the assignment where I'd lose my lunch, and worrying if a thick marine layer would ground the media flight altogether.
Arriving a half-hour early at Naval Air Station Point Mugu on a sunny Friday morning, I made my way past throngs of people enjoying a pre-air-show performance of helicopters, biplanes, and jets, which were practicing in advance of the weekend event. Upon meeting up with the Breitling Jet Team — a civilian squad of aerobatic flyers sponsored by the Swiss watchmaker — we headed to a long hanger to be fitted with official flight suits and helmets as well as have a safety meeting, where we learned the importance of not touching the plane's flight stick, foot pedals, emergency hatch, and, of course, the vital albeit hair-raising ejection seat.