AIR DAY 2014: I only enjoy display when I'm back on ground, says jet pilot

SWISS Hornet pilot, Captain Julien Meister, said he only begins to enjoy performing his fast-moving jet solo display when he is back down safely on the ground.

It is Captain Meister’s first season in the F-18 Hornet hot seat and the International Air Day at RNAS Yeovilton yesterday (Saturday, July 26, 2014) was third show in England this month.

“I really enjoy doing the shows,” he told the Yeovil Press. “But I only really enjoy it when I’ve done my display and I’m back on the ground.

“There is so much work beforehand preparing and getting myself ready.

“I have to concentrate so much during the display that I don’t actually enjoy the flying. It’s when I’m back on the ground and relax that I can then enjoy what I’ve just done.”

Captain Meister (pictured above prior to his display yesterday at RNAS Yeovilton), who is better known as Teddy, wowed the crowds at Yeovilton yesterday in his display which combined speed, precision and amazing agility in the F-18 jet which can travel at 1,910mph.

He told the Yeovil Press that the build-up to his display was crucial to its success.

“I listen to my favourite music on the iPod, which gets me into the right frame of mind,” he said. “Afterwards, when I sit in the cockpit and perform the final checks, I am quite calm.

“I know that I will master the challenge.

“I like spending the last few minutes before take-off alone. I close my eyes and concentrate. I fly the display in my mind – manoeuvre after manoeuvre.”

PHOTOS: Captain Julien "Teddy" Meister wows the crowds in the F-18 Hornet from the Swiss Air Force.

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