In Combat Pilot fly-on-the-wall cameras capture fear, anticipation and elation as the trainees at RAF Valley finally take flight over Anglesey, Bangor and surrounding areas, knowing that there could be just months between them and the frontline.

At 38, Squadron Leader Dave McBryde has spent a long time desperate to fulfil a life ambition to fly a jet at very fast speeds on his own. As he steps out of the aircraft, it's clear that the experience was even more exhilarating than he'd expected.

"What can I say? I think the grin tells all - absolutely fantastic, fantastic," says Dave.

As the other pilots get set for this mammoth step, they know that they have to deliver peak performance if they are to stay on the course. On average, 20% of fast jet trainees fail.

A successful solo flight will mean drinking an honorary pint from the same silver tankard used by every successful fast jet pilot before them. Anything less will invoke the dreaded lobster of failure - a singing, dancing plastic crustacean used to humiliate pilots who don't make the grade on an exercise.

But news of Hans Blix's arrival in Baghdad hammers home the sinister nature of combat today. Chemical and biological weapons mean more than a newspaper headline to these men - they are a reality which lies ahead. And the situation in Iraq serves to concentrate the mind.

"The state of the world at the moment, there's all sorts of unpleasant weaponry out there and we need to know how to operate in these environments," explains Flight Officer Lewis Cunningham. "We're going to be flying over countries where they manufacture these things. If we were to come under a chemical attack, everyone needs the same level of skill to operate."

To hone those skills, the men are confined to a brick hut and exposed to hazardous CS gas. To decontaminate with pads of Fuller's earth, they must first remove their protective head gear while blocking every facial orifice. CS gas immediately attacks moisture inside nostrils and ears - and even sweat on skin - so dexterity is key. But Flight Officer Cunningham is in trouble as the gas overwhelms him and he must make a rapid exit from the hut. As well as a very nasty experience, it's a black mark against his progress.

"It just makes you realise you have to be meticulous, or else you're dead," he says.