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Top Fuel pilot Clay Millican had one of his lifelong dreams fulfilled Thursday when he flew in an F-16 with the United States Air Force Thunderbirds out of the Toledo Express Airport.

Millican and his pilot, Major Randy Redell. Photo by Roger Richards

"Everything about this flight was more than I expected," Millican said. "It was the experience of a lifetime. The equipment itself was like space-age technology. I couldn't believe how quiet and smooth the ride was, even when we accelerated to 14,000 feet going straight up."

Prior to take-off, Millican went through a series of pre-flight procedures. First, he was fitted for his G suit, followed by a lesson with the flight surgeon on what the G forces would do to his body so that could remain conscious and keep from getting sick.

"The surgeon told me to act like I was Hans and Franz from the old Saturday Night Live shows and squeeze my stomach muscles as hard as I could to make sure I didn't pass out," Millican said.

The final step in Millican's pre-flight process was to spend an hour with the pilot, Major Randy Redell, second in command with the squadron. Major Redell taught Millican how to operate the ejection seats and went over the maneuvers they would do during the flight. Millican also had the opportunity to tell Major Redell a little bit more about drag racing, and gave him a 1/16th scale die-cast of the team's Elvis-themed dragster they raced at the O'Reilly Mid-South NHRA Nationals in Memphis, and will race at the upcoming NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis on September 1-6. Major Redell said they plan to put the die-cast on display at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, the squadron's home base.

Oh, what a feeling! Photo by Roger Richards

Once the flight took off, Millican reached a G force level far beyond the four to five G's he normally reaches when driving a Top Fuel dragster. In the F-16, Millican pulled nine G's, which is equivalent to nine times the force of gravity.

"I heard Ron Capps had flown with the Thunderbirds and pulled nine G's, so I told the pilot that I wanted to do that too," Millican said. "He told me it might make me pass out, but I was willing to give it a try. I stayed conscious the whole time and it was really the ride of my life. The pressure at nine G's is unbelievable. It feels like someone is trying to push you out of the airplane.

"He let me fly the plane and I did a backwards loop. It was the coolest thing I've ever done."

Millican, a native of Drummonds, Tenn., grew up going to air shows with his family at the Millington Naval Air Station in Millington, Tenn., and it has been a dream of his to fly with a group such as the Thunderbirds since he was a child.

"I have always wanted to do this," said Millican. "It was so much cooler than I expected. Flying with the Thunderbirds made me really appreciate that our country is being protected by these unbelievably talented guys."