OC HIGH: STUDENT NEWS AND VIEWS : Mission: Excitement, Destination: Fightertown : <i> Teen review of books, music, movies and other things of interest. : </i>

Diving to the ground at an excess of 200 m.p.h. in a flight-simulator crash can be a gut-wrenching experience, but hardly an end to the fun at Fightertown.

At Fightertown in Lake Forest, any militarily inexperienced person (not excluding a certain commander in chief) can fly a mission and demolish a couple of Iraqi bases (or any other enemy target of your choice), without going through years of training in the Air Force.

After a 20-minute briefing and 10-minute cockpit orientation, you’re given a flight suit and helmet with a working microphone (to talk to the control tower or co-pilot, if you have one), at which time you’re ready to cruise in mock, multibillion-dollar machinery.

The F-4 stealth fighter and 10 other cockpits await adventure-seekers in a cave-like structure across the hall from the briefing room.

“It’s similar to the arcades, but it’s much more realistic. These simulators are very much like the ones the military uses, but much more simple, to make it easier to fly,” said Bryce Williams, an assistant manager at Fightertown.

Once you step into the cockpit, the top hatch slowly comes down, and your vision is isolated to the cockpit. When the mission begins, intricate software adapts to all the pilot’s actions. All cockpits are interactive.

The cockpits are fully loaded with aircraft equipment, and the video screen, or heads-up display, presents a type of virtual reality world. Although geographic features exist in rough polygon shapes, the movements of the plane are extremely close to reality.

The cost to fly ranges from $19.99 for the F-18 Hornet to $49.99 per hour for the F-14 Tomcat, which includes the briefing, orientation and a half-hour flight.

Flying aficionados can go through squadron training to advance their skills. Instructors provide training one night a month and test these wanna-be pilots on flying formations, basic fighting maneuvers, navigation and fog flying.

Cadets progress in rank and earn their wings. Squadrons of winged cadets compete against each other in tournaments or simulated missions.

“The people who come in either are stressed out from work and just want to relax or they are the type that want to try new and exciting things. It’s a different experience,” Williams said.

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Fightertown

20521 Teresita Way

Lake Forest

Information: (714) 855-8802

Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday; 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday

Cost: From $19.99 to $49.99. Eleven different cockpits available. Cost includes briefing, orientation and a half-hour flight.