Things to Do in Phoenix, Ariz. - Fighter Combat International

Until you feel it, four times the force of gravity is a very abstract concept. But in real terms, imagine being crushed under an impossibly heavy, invisible electric blanket cranked to its highest setting.

I experienced that sensation when I was a writer for my local newspaper. My editor dumped a cheesy feature on me - a preview for an airshow - that I managed to convert into one of my favorite pieces ever. I wanted to give readers an idea of what it was like to barrel roll, stall and loop through the air. A few phone calls later, I arranged a ride in a World War II-vintage T-6 Texan fighter-trainer that would fly in the show.

Thanks to some clever fliers in the Phoenix metro area, you can arrange a ride that just might make mine look boring: Though I got a sample of all the maneuvers of aerial combat, visitors to Fighter Combat International get to take the controls while dogfighting against other aircraft. The company, based at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, has options from a $795 half-day air combat package to a five-day extravaganza that'll set you back $3,995.

Fighter Combat International uses the Extra 300L , a fully aerobatic propeller-driven plane with mind-blowing performance. All other things being equal, it can fly circles around the Texan that spun my world on every axis. It's also a very compact, modern-feeling aircraft. It does, though, lack the Texan's Black Sheep Squadron vibe (the Texan I flew in was the same blue color as Pappy Boyington's F4U4 Corsair, but it lacked the sleek menace and that awesome inverted gull wing).

Obviously, this isn't pocket change. But I guarantee that you will run into few other people with a story nearly as cool as yours. According to Fighter Combat International, participants can fly up to 75 percent of the mission. And it doesn't require a pilot's license.

Something else I can promise: air combat maneuvering will make you queasy. After your first bunch of barrel rolls , Immelmann turns and Cuban Eights , you'll fantasize about straight and level flight so you can stop tensing every muscle in your body to force blood to your brain. You'll savor the moment when, back on the ground, you open the canopy to gulp cool(er), fresh(er) air. You will not feel like Tom Cruise ... you'll feel sweaty, nauseous and wrung-out.

But you'll also count the minutes to the next time you go up.