I tested the game-changing F-35 stealth fighter, an incredible jet that demands more than just great flying skills from its pilots

• Billie Flynn spent years as a pilot in the testing program for the F-35 stealth fighter jet.
• He said the aircraft was very easy to fly and compared operating it to playing a video game.
• The fighter jet, he said, is incredibly capable and changed the understanding of what's possible in aerial warfare.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Billie Flynn, a former Royal Canadian Air Force combat commander and Lockheed Martin employee who was involved with the F-35 stealth fighter program for around 20 years. It's been edited for length and clarity.

Getting to fly the F-35, for me, involved years, years of anticipation to get to that point.