WOW! AWESOME!
Ahem…pardon me – I seem to have briefly lost my composure. Let me begin again.
That was, without question, the coolest thing I’ve ever done! 
Alright, alright…I’ll try to give some details. Bear in mind that I probably won’t be able to do it justice, but I’ll make an effort, at least.
So we arrived at the airport (Brackett Airfield, if anyone’s familiar with Southern California) right at 4:30pm and met with Bill Rohde, the pilot. He was, as he had been over the phone, extremely friendly and informative, open to any questions I had. He showed me around the plane and explained that he’d just gotten it back from its annual inspection earlier in the week. He’d flown it several times, made adjustments, and declared it to be in great shape.
He then described the route we would be taking, which would start by paralleling the 210 Freeway along the foothills, up around Mt. Baldy, and then up over Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear Lake. Then he described how to put on the parachute and get into and out of the plane (what I could and couldn’t touch) and talked about instrument gauges. He asked if I had any questions (I didn’t), and then it was time to “suit up.”
Putting on the parachute wasn’t that big a deal, although I don’t think I’d ever had anything quite that snug around my crotch previously. What proved to be a challenge was getting into the plane. I’m a big guy, and I was having a hard time getting my legs up and into the cockpit area without using the windshield for bracing (a definite no-no). Eventually I got in, and after struggling with the seatbelts a bit, I was set. I was sweating profusely at this point, but that was more from the effort than being nervous.
After I got set, Bill pushed the plane out of the hanger and climbed in. Jakeline was, of course, dutifully snapping pictures the whole time. Bill fitted me with a Snoopy-style headphone set and got me plugged in, and then he climbed in himself. He ran through his pre-flight routine and then started the engine – I was amazed at how quickly I cooled down once that propeller got going!
So my first bit of fun was listening to Bill communicate with the tower as he got permission to taxi to the runway. He explained everything he was doing as he did it, which I found very comforting, even though I wasn’t all that nervous at the time. Everything seemed incredibly surreal to me as we taxied. We were cleared by the tower, he throttled up, and we were in the air quicker than I would have imagined possible. Oddly enough, the take-off felt to me much like a take-off in a commercial jet, except that I wasn’t pushed back into my seat in the same manner. But many of the sensations were the same.
We took off heading west, made a sharp turn to the north, and then another turn heading east along the foothills. After spending a little time climbing, Bill asked if I was ready to take over, and I said I was. I should point out that he did not want me to deal with the rudders since I had no flying experience. He just let me take control of the stick. My turn, muahahaha!
I found the control to be very intuitive and very comfortable. Keeping it on a straight course was very much like driving a car in my opinion – small, subtle movement. Once he saw that I was comfortable being in control, he encourage me to work the stick to the left and right so that I was comfortable with the plane turning (somewhat) under my control. From that point on, he basically told me where he wanted me to go, and I controlled it.
As we got into the mountains, the real reason that I was on this mission came into play. We did hit some turbulence (very small, from his comments, but similar to what sets me off in commercial jets), and although it made me a little twitchy, being in control of the plane made the sensation different. It was sort of like being on a rough road – I wasn’t terribly fond of the sensation, but there was no point where I felt like the plane was having any difficulty with what we were encountering. He asked me if I was still comfortable handling the stick when it got choppy, and I told him I was. We continued on.
Flying around Arrowhead and Big Bear was absolutely gorgeous. He would occasionally take over and do what I believe he called “slipping.” He basically tilted the plane to the side that we were, in essense, sliding at an angle so that I could get better pictures of the ground below. I could not believe that I was experiencing all of this without being the least bit frightened. It was just pure fun!
Once we got to the edge of Big Bear, he took over again, made a quick U-turn and got us headed back to the airport. Although I had the stick again, I wasn’t doing anything but flying straight and enjoying the experience. It was magnificent to be in the air at the helm with the view I had.
Eventually, he notified me that we were getting near the aerobatics practice area and asked if I was interested in doing anything “interesting.” I was feeling pretty comfortable, so I asked him what he had in mind. He suggested a simple aileron (hope I spelled that correctly) roll. Although I was a bit nervous and not entirely sure what to expect, I decided to go for it. Again, I was comforted by the fact that he didn’t just go for it – there were a series of checks that he ran through regarding airspeed, altitude and traffic around us that reassured me that he takes what he does very seriously, and therefore does it safely.
He explained to me that we would tilt the nose forward and reach an airspeed of 160mph, then bank up at approximately 30 degrees to the horizon, then push to the left and roll. He made sure, both here at during other parts of the flight, that while he was in control of the plane doing maneuvers, he wanted my hand on the stick so that I could feel what he was doing. Once I was ready, we went ahead and rolled.
I don’t know that I can really explain in words what it’s like to look UP at the ground for the first time from 6,000 feet. Not frightening…just…weird. Very, very cool – very fun and fairly exhilirating! Then he asked me if I was willing to try it myself as he talked me through it. I said I was, and performed the same maneuver with me handling the stick (mostly) on my own as we did another roll. I did feel him push a little bit on it as he was telling me to push more to the left, but it was mostly me, anyway! What a blast!
After that, I was done with my thrill-seeking, so we headed back west, and eventually he took over for the decent and landing. I was fairly impressed with the sharp turns we made and the rapid decent to get back down on the ground. What a wonderful ride! I realize how cheesy this must sound even as I type it, but I really don’t have the words. I just had the time of my life from beginning to end!
I’m sure I’ve left out important details somewhere, so please ask me questions and I’ll do my best to answer.
Also, pictures will be forthcoming shortly, so stay tuned! Thanks again to everyone who has participated in this thread. I’m certain I’ll never forget the experience, and, I have to sheepishly admit that I’d love to do it again. 
Perhaps most importantly, though, is that I’m anticipating, rather than dreading, my “real” flight on Wednesday. Again, I’m not about to claim that I’ve ridded myself of any and all nervousness. But before the conception of today’s trip, even thinking about flying or watching a TV show where someone was flying was something that would get me so anxious that I’d have to think of something else to calm down.
Did I mention “Wow”?
As Nava pointed out, I regret that I won’t have the opportunity to visit the cockpit of the commercial jet when I fly next week. But at least I have some idea of what they see out of the window when they’re in control up there. It hasn’t even been 24 hours yet, and it doesn’t seem real anymore.