By Rob Pittam

The bandit plane in my sights twisted and turned in the clouds.

I fought with the controls of the plane to keep on his trail.

The G-forces were draining the blood from my head and my arms felt like lead weights as I closed on the target.

I fired and plumes of smoke trailed from his wings, a successful kill on my first sortie.

Not bad for someone who doesn't like flying.

Iceman and his instructors

Mind you, there's little time to worry about lifelong fears when the propeller-driven Extra 300 aerobatics plane is being thrown around the sky.

The pilots leading you through the day are some of the most experienced in the world; all former Red Arrows, they've seen it all before and are now sharing their skills with the greenest of novices.

Just to add to the fantasy you get to choose a call sign for the day.

Somehow I couldn't resist Icemean and I started to feel a bit better as the name was pinned to my flying suit.

Then follows a briefing, telling you about the mission you're about to fly and, more worryingly, how to work the parachute if it all goes pear-shaped.

Impressive

The briefing is impressive but nothing prepares you for the adrenaline rush as former RAF squadron leader Andy Cubin pulls the plane into the first loop the loop of the day.

That shouldn't be up there!

As the plane levels out, your head is still spinning. There's a few seconds to clear your head, then it's your turn to do it!

As Andy shouted encouragement I pulled back the joystick and the horizon disappeared, I was flying straight into the sky and a split second later it all came back into view again.

Next we tried a 360 degree role. The plane is specially designed for aerobatics and can flip completely round in less than a second.

Once again it was my turn to try. I moved the stick to the right and it felt like I was falling out of the plane, but we were straight back round. I was impressed with myself - Andy wasn't.

"That was a bit of a granny roll, Rob. I'm sure we can go a bit faster," he said into my headset.

Tracked

This time I practically threw the joystick to the left and the plane responded instantaneously.

After practising the basics, I was off on a mission. There was another plane flying alongside me and it was my job to get it.

Under Andy's direction we tracked him through twists and turns in the sky .

By now I was oblivious of whether we were level or upside down, simply keeping the enemy in my sights.

Then it was over and time to return to base.

Exhiliration

Although there was one final loop the loop, this time over the airfield. As I screamed all the way round, Andy sang.

As we landed my stomach, which I had left somewhere up in the clouds, caught up, and there was a few minutes of feeling distinctly green around the gills.

But there was also a tremendous exhiliration at the thought of what I'd just done.

As I stepped out of the plane, instead of the wobble I had anticipated, I had more of a swagger, as Iceman headed back for a cup of tea and a debriefing after another successful mission.