THE best thing to eat before you go up is a banana because they taste the same when they're coming back out."

Unsurprisingly this piece of belated advice from pilot Jez Hopkinson wasn’t what I wanted to hear while I prepared for the flight and, as I donned my parachute, I felt the colour fade from my face.

However what he had to say next was even more unnerving.

"Get familiar with where the parachute release handle is. Do it a few times, then you’ll know where it is if we have to jump out."

He then went through the steps I’d have to take in the event of such an emergency and apparently it was very simple - all I would have to do is open the canopy, unstrap myself from the safety harness, jump out of the plane and deploy the parachute. All of which would no doubt be very simple as we plummeted to the ground at 200mph...

However, once I got in the Yakovlev, Jez eased my nerves by informing me that he’d never actually needed to eject from one of these Russian stunt planes, and he flies them all the time.

Also reassuring was his impressive CV – he used to be in the Air Force and, as well as being a stunt pilot, he is an examiner for the Civil Aviation Authority.

I was confident that I was in safe hands, so much so that by the time we had taxied to the grass runway at Compton Abbas, I felt some of the colour come back to my face – I was now more of a cabbage green hue.

As we got clearance for take-off, Jez opened the throttle and we shot down the runway. The acceleration was phenomenal – I was pushed into my seat and after just a few seconds we were airborne and doing 120mph.

From my previous conversations with Jez it seemed there was definitely an air of the joker about him, so it should have come as no surprise when seconds after take-off he decided to barrel roll the plane.

Yet it was a surprise – a stomach churning, organ-bashing, whopping great surprise.

Neither my mind or body were prepared for it and all I could do was gasp and hold on tight. Yet it was exhilarating. Never before had I been pushed to such physical extremes or experienced such G-force.

After various airborne acrobatics and rolls Jez calmed down and we went on a scenic flight across Dorset. Here he asked me a ridiculous question: "Would you like to have a go?"

Needless to say I snapped up the opportunity to fulfil a childhood dream and, as I had the Yakovlev banking over Cranborne Chase at around 200mph, for a moment I felt like I was 11 years old again.

It was a true red-letter day for me, although sadly there were repercussions from my experience, as life on the ground will forever be that bit duller