The Israeli couple who fly a fighter jet only for enjoyable

Some ladies rejoice their companion’s birthday at a superb restaurant. Others e-book a luxurious lodge. And then there are those that select to place him by means of excessive bodily situations — similar to these skilled by Israel Air Force pilots throughout grueling coaching flights.

For Naomi, initially from Jerusalem and now dwelling in Ashkelon, the scent of jet gas and hovering above the clouds is her skilled house. But nothing in her glamorous routine ready her for a single flight — lasting nearly 20 minutes — over inexperienced fields within the Czech Republic.

As is customary in 2026, the concept for a radical birthday present didn’t come from a pal’s advice, however from a dialog with a man-made intelligence generator. “I told it: give me ideas for an unusual birthday for my boyfriend Max. I’m an aviation enthusiast — and it suggested a private fighter jet flight,” Naomi recalled.

At first, it sounded virtually far-fetched. “I knew this existed in some countries,” she mentioned, “but suddenly it went from an idea in my head to something real.”

To be exact, this was not a fight mission in a bomb-laden fighter jet heading to Iran, however a flight in a two-seat L-39 Albatros jet coach, simulating a excessive G-force fighter expertise.

“It’s a fighter jet flight, but technically it’s a training aircraft,” she clarified. “It’s not a plane that goes into combat and fires missiles — but a jet is a jet. Whoever flies it experiences the same loops and rolls, just without weapons.” In different phrases, all the things a pilot’s physique endures throughout a fight flight occurs right here too — minus the conflict and the years of flight faculty.

They booked the expertise by means of Migflug, a world firm specializing in excessive aviation experiences, providing such flights from varied airfields around the globe. After the preliminary pleasure got here the truth verify.

“After booking with the guy in the Czech Republic, I told myself — wait, let’s consult our pilots at Israir and hear what they think.”

One of them, a reserve fighter pilot within the Israeli Air Force, offered significantly unsettling data.

“He told me: ‘It’s a crazy, amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experience — but don’t panic if you lose your vision.’”

That blunt sentence immediately modified the temper. “What do you mean don’t panic if I see black?” she recalled.

“He said I might see black or red, or experience tunnel vision — everything goes dark and you only see light at the end. He explained that during high G-force maneuvers, the blood shifts in your body: when blood rushes to your head, you see red; when it drains to your legs, you see black or gray.”

As if that weren’t sufficient, the seasoned fight pilot added one other pleasant warning. “He said I might faint or vomit, and not to panic — because afterward you wake up and everything’s fine. I’ve never fainted in my life, and that really stressed me out. I thought — what now? Am I going to faint at altitude? Throw up?”

“The Israir pilot told me explicitly: this is trauma for the body. It’s not something the body is used to,” Naomi mentioned.

During the flight, the pilot carried out maneuvers reaching 4 Gs — which means that at these moments, the physique feels 4 instances its precise weight. “On the ground we experience one G,” she defined. “In the air — it’s a different story.”

In the Czech Republic, preparations had been exact: flight fits, briefing — and the understanding there was no turning again.

“Two hours by taxi from the international airport and we reached the airfield in Brno. An amazing team welcomed us, explained what was going to happen, and gave us pilot suits, helmets and headsets.”

Then got here the brief flight briefing that despatched adrenaline surging. “The pilot held a small model plane and showed us the rolls and maneuvers we’d be doing, and I kept thinking — just don’t see black.”

Max, the birthday boy, went up first. “I wanted him to enjoy it first.” After 20 minutes that felt like eternity, he returned to the bottom.

“He got off with insane adrenaline and told me, ‘I feel like I’ve done every drug in the world.’”

Then got here the nerve-wracking element. “He said that at one point he saw only black, and then just light at the end of a tunnel, and felt like he was about to faint.”

When Naomi herself climbed into the cockpit, her worry peaked. “All the anxieties hit at once. My heart was at 200. I told myself: I can do this. My body is strong — it’ll handle it.”

The pilot was reassuring. “Before every maneuver he said: ‘We’re about to do an exercise — are you ready?’”

Each time, she adopted directions exactly. “I tightened my stomach and legs and held my breath. Exactly like our pilot told me.”

And her physique? It cooperated.

“I didn’t see even a bit of black. No dizziness, no nausea. Nothing.”

When the flight ended, the sensation was unmistakable. “I got off the plane on a crazy high. It’s the most extreme thing I’ve ever done.”

But the results didn’t finish at touchdown.

“One of the pilots told me beforehand — the moment you get off the flight, you’ll either feel like you’ve been beaten up or like you have a massive hangover. And that’s exactly what happened.”

After the adrenaline fades and the physique tires, what stays is the reminiscence — a one-time, excessive expertise you are feeling in each muscle, one which lingers lengthy after the wheels contact down.

“Max said it was the best gift he’s ever received,” Naomi concluded. “Without a doubt — I’d do it again.”