Bollywood hero Shahid Kapoor Saturday flew in an American F-16 fighter at the AeroIndia 2011 military-cum-civil aviation trade expo on the outskirts of this aerospace hub.

"It was a thrilling experience, which will help me in the role as a fighter pilot in my forthcoming film 'Mausam'," a beaming Kapoor told reporters after a 40-minute sortie at the Indian Air Force (IAF) air base near Yelahanka, about 20 km from the city.

The F-16IN Super Viper was flown by Lockheed Martin's test pilot Paul 'Bear' Randall on mission mode and was escorted by another F-16 flown by test pilot Jim Hedges and a US Air Force pilot.

"Though Kapoor didn't take controls of the aircraft mid-air, the flight was operated on mission mode for about 40 minutes with AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array) radar," a company spokesperson told .

Prior to the flight on the fourth day of the five-day biennial mega air show, Kapoor underwent mandatory health check-ups and was found fit to fly in the combat aircraft.

"It's a huge honour and privilege to fly such a magnificent aircraft. I wanted to have real-time experience of flying a fighter before action in the movie," the 30-year-old actor said.