I spent a few years meandering around the cargo bays of Air Force C-130's back in the early 80s.
The flight crew got a kick out of jostling us around the back of the plane while we were trying to pack up tie downs and rollers and such.
I remember one flight, out of Howard Air Force Base in Panama, during the peak of "Iran Contra" when, during the return cruise after a L.A.P.E.S drop (more than a little exciting in it's own right), the loadmaster and I were in the cargo bay stowing tie-down chains, when suddenly we found ourselves pinned to the ceiling. I managed to grab hold of a cable trough before the plane leveled off at tree top level, which prevented me from slamming into the metal floor. The loadmaster wasn't so lucky. He ended up slamming into the floor, suffering a broken hip, pelvis and tail bone (yea, ow). I came away with some scrapes on my forearms, and some bruises, but was otherwise unscathed.
(Anecdote: This experience caused me to ponder my practical understanding of "up" - To this day when people ask me "What's up?", I'm inclined to respond with "you have NO idea"
)This wasn't a case of the crew Commander having fun though. They saw tracers coming up from the Jungle, and took evasive action (dive to the tree tops to cut off the angle).
I found a 2" hole in the vertical stabilizer the next day. This was not the only incident involving aircraft damage as a result of combat during the execution of those missions.
Hopefully your flight will be more fun and less 'exciting'.
A little tip. Try and stay close to a window and look outside as much as possible.. especially if you can see the terrain. It will help. If that isn't possible.. well.. good luck.
