After 30 years they finally let Ace Combat's director fly in a real jet, and I'm taking credit

Back in June, I asked the Ace Combat brand director, who's been working on the series since 1997's Ace Combat 2, if he'd ever gotten to strap into an F-16 and experience the real thrills of doing barrel rolls at 30,000 feet. "Unfortunately over the last 30 years of my career I've been appealing, saying 'hey, we want to ride in one of these jets!' but we have not yet had the chance," Kono said at the time. "Neither myself, or anyone on the team."

Mere months later, it's a whole new world. In a promotional video released today alongside Ace Combat 8, Bandai Namco revealed that Kono finally got to climb into the cockpit of a jet and live the real life version of the series he's been overseeing for years and years. Well, minus the combat parts.

"I was scared before getting in. But once we were airborne, it turned into one of the most beautiful experiences," he …