B-town charmer Shahid Kapoor last weekend flew an American F-16 fighter at the AeroIndia 2011 military-cum-civil aviation trade expo on the outskirts of this aerospace hub in Bangalore.

The actor says, It was a thrilling experience, which will help me in the role as a fighter pilot in my forthcoming film Mausam.” Shahid had a 40-minute sortie at the Indian Air Force (IAF) air base near Yelahanka, about 20 km from the city of Bangalore in Karnataka.

The F-16IN Super Viper was flown by Lockheed Martin's test pilot Paul 'Bear' Randall on mission mode and was escorted by another F-16 flown by test pilot Jim Hedges and a US Air Force pilot.

Prior to the flight on the fourth day of the five-day biennial mega air show, Shahid underwent mandatory health check-ups and was found fit to fly in the combat aircraft.

It's a huge honour and privilege to fly such a magnificent aircraft. I wanted to have real-time experience of flying a fighter before action in the movie, the 30-year-old actor said.

Shahid underwent a vigorous training and went through 4 hours of test in the suburban hospital undergoing various stress test and blood test. The actor received a 4 page long list of dos and don’ts before he flew the F-16.

Shahid didn’t drink any liquid for 4 hours, didn’t eat anything for 16 hours except for the two chocolate bars provided by the Air force.

Says Shahid, “I have been preparing for this event with rigorous training over the last one month. The tests included flying at a very high velocity and making sure I would not suffer from motion sickness.

Shahid has now joined the elite list of Tata group chairman Ratan Tata, IAF Wing Commander (Retd) Rakesh Sharma and Lok Sabha member from Haryana Navin Jindal to have flown in the tandem-seater fly-by-wire supersonic F-16.

Says the beaming Shahid, “It's a great experience and I learnt how to fly a fighter. Paul (the pilot) gave me lot of tips about flying such an awesome military aircraft and I am thankful to Lockheed Martin.”

Shahid Kapoor plays an Air Force pilot in his father Pankaj Kapoor directorial venture ‘Mausam’ opposite Sonam Kapoor.

On asked what was his call sign, Shahid overwhelmingly adds, “I am extremely delighted, actually overwhelmed, the pilots took me to a lot of training before I could fly and the experience was amazing. My Call sign was Oscars.”

What a way to fly Shahid, we are optimistic that the ‘Mausam’ at this July 22 will be perfect for you to take off to new heights in Bollywood.