During Exercise Real Thaw 2018, the Portuguese CIMIC (civil-military cooperation) team organised the event “Pilot for a day” at Monte Real Air Base. Two children aged 8, Lourenço and Inês, from a local school of the closest city Leiria, spent a day as jet pilots, guided by a pilot of the base, Lt João Franco. During the day, the two children dressed up as real jet pilots, played with a flight simulator, sat inside a real F-16 jet, watched the jets’ take-offs at the run-way and fulfilled every child’s dream.