Strapped in tightly into the cramped cockpit, Barbara felt a jolt of exhilaration as the jet started to climb over 6,000 feet per minute and since this Aermacchi MB-339 jet was only going up to around 3,000 feet it took only half a minute to level off. Every bit of turbulence was felt due to the lack of cushioning on Barbara's seat but this lack of cushion would ideally protect her spine if she needed to eject out with the parachute.

As the aerobatics began - turning upside down, turning on a dime, dipping down swiftly to come closer to the ground, she was at once feeling forces against her body at an intensity that she could never fathom while at the same time feeling that she was in a dream as she and the jet were one – very little between her and the open sky – and so she knew what it was like to be an eagle and to see through its eyes.