During the flight, Tkachuk reached 9.5 Gs during high-speed flight. This means he withstood 9.5 times the force of gravity.
I joined a special group and later received a “9g” pin.
“I was more afraid of having to vomit or passing out,” Tkachuk said. He thankfully made it through the entire session without reaching for the barf bag. “Both times were close calls. When the G hits, it’s crazy. It’s like nothing I’ve ever felt before. It was great to do it and it was so much fun.”
Also on the flight was Lt. Col. Tyler “Lars” Keener, an experienced Air Force fighter pilot.
“He was ready for it,” Keener said proudly of his co-pilot.
At one point during the flight, there was sufficient airspace and control was handed over to Tkachuk.
“Jet handling is pretty crazy,” Kenner said. “The stick moves with very little pressure on the stick. Everyone reacts the same way: ‘Okay, it’s flying.'” And then the moment they start moving, it’s, “Oh!” He felt comfortable right away. He started rolling and doing some pretty heavy G-turns. That was all for Matthew. ”
Despite his firm status as an F-16 pilot, Tkachuk does not believe he has a promising future in aviation.
“I don’t think I’ll ever be a pilot,” he says, laughing beneath aviator sunglasses. “I’ll leave that to them.”
Keener made a pit stop before returning to the airport, where he flew Tkachuk over his home in Fort Lauderdale.
Tkachuk, who became a father for the first time in April, expects he may wake his baby girl Camille from her nap.
“I hope someday she thinks I’m cool,” the young father said.
Tkachuk, who has already won two Stanley Cups with the Panthers, became known beyond South Florida when he helped the United States win its first men’s hockey gold medal since 1980 in a thrilling overtime victory over Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
As Keener completes his lap, he remembers waking up before sunrise to watch the historic victory.
“If you’re a hockey fan in general, you’re a Matthew Tkachuk fan just by watching him play,” Keener said. “As an American, watching him put on the red, white and blue uniform and win for his country, and see him lift off in the red, white and blue jets, you couldn’t ask for a better story.”
