THIS year's Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire was one that 18 year old Cadet Warrant Officer (CWO) Connor Miller will never forget. 

Connor, a member of 2478 (Abergavenny ) Squadron was selected for a unique flight with the Breitling Jet Display Team.

Connor is a long-standing supporter of RIAT and 2011 was his third year working at the largest military air-show in the World.

He arrives well in advance of the bulk of the 750 cadets who support that event and helps to prepare the camp site and support facilities. 

Breitling was looking to reward a cadet who shows a commitment to aviation, and Connor's regular RIAT work and his Air Cadet advanced gliding wings show that he was a worthy recipient of this award. 

Connor flew with the team's leader and founder, Jacques Bothelin.

Connor said, "The push of the jet engine when we took off was brilliant. Being in number one (at the front of the formation) I had to look around to see the other aircraft.

"I had great faith in my pilot as we climbed to six thousand feet and headed towards Gloucester. We then went into a dive to get the speed up to 320 knots, and then things got interesting.

"We pulled up into a loop and the first turn was a bit of a shock because of the G force, then we went into a barrel roll and I was all right after that. 

"We then did another couple of rolls and that's when I looked left and right and saw the other planes turning with us. It was brilliant and quite an experience to see the other aircraft as we pulled up into a loop going through the clouds."

Connor explained, "More manoeuvres followed, but it was over very quickly and half an hour felt like five seconds. 

"We then headed back to Fairford and came in for the approach pretty low. I could not figure out what we were doing because we were not lined up with the runway,

"So I looked left and right and saw that the smoke was on and then my pilot called break, and we climbed and broke left for the grand finale."

Connor added, "It was a brilliant experience, One of the best thing I have done in my life."

The Breitling Jet team is the only full-time civilian aerobatic team flying jet aircraft. They are based in Dijon in France and operate eight L39 Albatross aircraft, seven of which are flown in the formation displays. The aircraft can fly at speeds of up to 490 knots.