By Linda Friedman

This Backstreet Boy's Dream was to fly with the Blue Angels. Fasten your seat belt as he shares the ride of his life.

He has logged countless frequent-flyer miles on tour with Backstreet Boys, but Kevin Richardson has long fantasized about taking off on his own -- in a fighter plane. So when the U.S. Navy invited one of the Boys to take a flight with the Blue Angels, they didn't draw straws. "The guys know about my flying dreams -- eventually I'm going to get my private license." says Kevin, 28. "So they said, 'You go ahead.' " But when the big day came, the Boys feared for their eldest member. "Everybody asked, 'Is that dangerous?'" he says. "I was like, 'They're trained military pilots. I'm in the safest hands possible!' "

Up, Up and Away

Still, nothing could have prepared Kevin for his briefing when Petty Officer Ed Primeau told him about the infamous "party bags". (They're like airsickness bags on a commercial airliner, but there are eight of them -- and after you've filled them, the only place to stash them is in your pockets.) First-timers usually need the party bags because their bodies aren't used to the gravitational pull, measured as G-forces (or G's for short) encountered at high speeds in the air. But Kevin didn't flinch at the prospect. "I'm a little nervous," he says. "But I'm excited."

There are tons of pictures with captions before, during, and after Kevin's flight. Some captions say that Kevin returned the favor by signing autographs for several of the pilots' daughters. Kevin also said that, "It's the difference between riding in a station wagon and riding in a Lamborghini!" when asked how does flying with the Blue Angels compare to flying on a commercial jet.