What happens when an influencer flies with the Spanish army's Patrulla Águila?

Since the dawn of military aviation, fighter jets have stood as a symbol of cutting-edge technology and human courage confronting the skies. Through effort and discipline, the Spanish Air Force has fostered this tradition, relying on aircraft that train its aviators while safeguarding the nation's skies. Among all its squadrons, the Patrulla Águila (eagle patrol) shines brightest. Renowned for their precision, determination and perfect coordination, they soar not only through Spanish skies but through the country's collective memory.

But what is it really like to be inside one of those jets, not as a spectator, but as a participant? To answer that question, aerospace engineer and content creator Sergio Hidalgo accepted the most extraordinary challenge of his career - to fly in a C-101 fighter alongside the Patrulla Águila.

"In the previous video, I said that my body was ready to get into a fighter jet. I did the CIMA (centre for aerospace medicine instruction) tests to verify it, because today we are going to get into a C-101 but not just any C-101 - we are going to do it in one of the Patrulla Águila, with the best pilots in Spain," he says at the beginning of the video. "What you are about to see is a dream come true and the best thing is that I have been able to document it step by step, so that you can live this experience with me," he adds.

Before the video shows him jumping into the cockpit, the content creator describes some of the characteristics of the aircraft. "The C-101 Aviojet is the trainer aircraft that Spain has been using since 1980. It's powered by a turbofan engine located in the fuselage, with intakes on either side."

"Like all aircraft designed for fighter pilots, it has an ejection seat that could save the pilot's life if they need to escape from the aircraft. However, the ejection seat in this plane would literally put my life in my hands. The ejection process is activated when the pilot pulls the handle between their legs. It takes less than a second and a half from the moment the pilot pulls until they are safely out of the plane. First, a cartridge slides the seat upward. Then, it rockets under the seat fire to push the pilot out even faster. And since this is a tandem-seat aircraft, each seat ejects to a different side to avoid mid-air collisions - front seat to the right, rear to the left," says Hidalgo.

"In today's two-seater aircraft, the ejection of the pilots can be programmed to be sequential, i.e. the ejection of one pilot would trigger the ejection of the other pilot after a few thousandths of a second. However, as the C-101 is a fairly old aircraft, this is not the case. This implies a great responsibility, because, if something were to happen, I would be responsible for pulling my ejection handle to save myself."

In addition, Hidalgo shares some disturbing facts about what happens if ejection is not done properly. "If you tilt your head while pulling the handle, the G-force can literally break your neck. That's why you must sit upright and look straight ahead during ejection," he explains, while demonstrating on a test seat.

In the cockpit, safety remains a priority. "Before any flight, a small safety pin that locks the injector seat handle must be removed. This pin, which prevents the seat from being accidentally triggered while the aircraft is on the ground, is only removed when everything is ready for the flight. Once removed, I show the pin to the mechanic to signal that the seat is now armed and ready," says Hidalgo.

"Another critical element is the anti-G suit. This suit is used in fighter planes to increase human tolerance to G-forces. During steep climbs, gravity forces your blood to your feet, away from your brain. When the aircraft hits more than 2Gs, the system sends compressed air through the suit, tightening it around your legs and abdomen to keep the blood where it’s needed," says Hidalgo, adding that a special breathing technique should accompany this process - "exhaling slowly while engaging every muscle from your core to your feet, pushing back against the pressure. It's an intense sensation."

Hidalgo also pays an homage to the Patrulla Águila by outlining how the squadron works. "The Patrulla Águila used to fly with seven aircraft, but lately it's down to six. As you can see later, the distance between the planes can be measured practically in centimetres. The spectacle from the ground is impressive, but I guarantee you that from above it is tremendous," highlights the content creator. He also breaks down the role of each member of the squadron.

Before every flight, there is a briefing, during which "everything important regarding that day is discussed". In addition, they rehearse the entire routine verbally and repeat the messages to make sure that everything is clear.

As take-off approached, Hidalgo put on the suit, helmet and mask. "And let me tell you, putting it on is not easy at all, as it has to fit tightly on your legs and abdomen with a lot of buttons and fasteners." After that, he was given a life jacket and a small beacon, as well as other emergency equipment.

"As I got to the seat, I had to strap myself in tightly with various harnesses to ensure I wouldn't move during all the manoeuvres we were about to perform, since there would be both positive and negative G-forces that could throw me against the canopy," he explains.

Once everything is ready, it is finally time for take-off. "I couldn't believe I was actually experiencing it," says Hidalgo. "You're in a small cockpit, strapped tightly into your seat, breathing through a mask, feeling the vibrations… and suddenly, the aircraft lifts off."

Hidalgo explains that, up in the sky, the planes are actually much bigger than they look when seen from the ground. "The length of a C-101 is 12.5 metres, about the same as a conventional bus."

According to the influencer, they first tried an inverted manoeuvre "and if you pay attention to the G-forces, what happens is that the nose lifts a bit to flip over, which causes a small increase in Gs". "The problem was that we'd then have to do the same but with negative Gs, which caught me by surprise. Then they put me inverted again for the 'Plus Ultra' manoeuvre, where we'd be flying with another plane right underneath, literally like in Top Gun." But the weather interrupted the rehearsal: "The day was terribly cloudy with very low visibility, so we couldn't really do any manoeuvres - mostly just formation passes. It was a shame not to have had clear skies to do a proper rehearsal."

The content creator returned a few days later to make another attempt at a full training. "I had to be prepared, because I would get on the 'Águila 5' - the solo jet - to do a complete run," says Hidalgo.

In the video, the content creator explains that, luckily, they could do a little warm-up after take-off, to practice the manoeuvres. This gave him time to 'feel' the plane. "So it's not just that I flew in a C-101, but that I flew a C-101 by myself," he says.

"In the Patrulla Águila, the first part of the show consists of flying all together doing formation stunts. We started with a looping and it was incredible to see the ground begin to appear above you while also seeing all the other planes flying beside you," says the engineer. Things got more intense when they split off so that each jet could perform its own manoeuvres.

"The first manoeuvre was the zero-speed manoeuvre, in which the plane suddenly dives sharply upwards and loses all speed until it reaches zero and starts to stall. It was a spectacular sensation from inside the plane to feel how you start to float. If I'm honest, it caught me by surprise, you can see the look on my face," he says while showing a photo that captured the moment and his reaction.

"After that, we did a slow barrel. This manoeuvre is very complicated, because you have to play with the pedals. It was these manoeuvres of getting inverted that made me dizzy. Especially when we went from negative Gs to positive Gs," he says, adding that a series of barrels followed, which made him feel even worse.

However, the most extreme manoeuvre for Hidalgo was the 'cobra'. "Everyone had warned me that I was going to pass out. At least it was the last difficult manoeuvre and, if I overcame that, I would have made it. The manoeuvre starts with a four-stroke barrel, i.e. a very slow barrel, then levels off for a couple of seconds and pulls nose up with a peak of Gs to turn 180º up and nose down with a positive Gs manoeuvre. The aircraft then dives down, gaining speed to begin a sharp 360º turn for almost 30 seconds at about 5Gs. From there, we'd line up to cross paths with the other jets flying in tight formation, passing just underneath them while climbing vertically," he says, before actually showing what the 'cobra' looks like.

But the result is worth everything. "I don't even know what to say after experiencing that. It is, without a doubt, the most intense minute and a half of my entire life. During the turn, I started to notice how, little by little, my vision was getting more and more blurred, which is why I warned Rafa so that he would know that I might lose consciousness, although it never happened."

"After this manoeuvre, I got extremely dizzy. Between trying not to pass out and all the extreme sensations my body was experiencing, I didn't know how to react. I could not show this and say that I managed perfectly: the reality is that I had a couple of very complicated minutes. Let's just say that I was very close to losing my breakfast. This kind of show requires tremendous preparation, because remember, I was just sitting in the plane with my only job being to survive. Meanwhile, the pilots are doing incredibly complex things while enduring the same forces I was. I'm honestly speechless."

Finally, the Patrulla performed the final manoeuvre - the famous 'Plus Ultra'. "In this last one, one plane flies behind and another flies mirrored right above, inverted. And yes, surprise, surprise, I was up again and once more inverted," Hidalgo says.

"Right after this came the final split, where all the planes would separate in front of the audience. Normally in any aerobatic team, this break is what lines the planes up for landing. But the Patrulla Águila is the only team in the world that flies jet aircraft and lands all of them in formation. So we regrouped to land."

The adrenaline of that experience caused Hidalgo to get emotional upon landing. With tears in his eyes, he realised that he had fulfilled a dream. He thanked the Patrulla Águila for the experience. "The memory I take with me is unforgettable, the best experience of my life, without a doubt. But not only because of the flight, but also because of the human quality of all the people I met. I have received a lesson in humility and teamwork," he concludes in the video.