Scoop

March 2001 People Weekly From ER to Wings, TV Docs Fly High. Question: What's more fun than a defibrillator and just as effective? Answer: A fighter plane hurtling 400 mph, upside down. Taking a break from double shifts at County General Hospital, ER's resident hunks Goran Visnjic (Dr. Luka Kovac) and Erik Palladino (Dr. David Malucci) flew heart-pounding missions on Feb.24 with the Navy's elite flight-demonstration squadron, the Blue Angels, to help boost recruitment. After undergoing cursory physical exams and listening to a safety brief, Visnjic and Palladino, riding with seasoned pilots, found themselves strapped in the cockpits of F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets during respective hour-long exhibition flights. The experience, including hairpin turns and busting through G-forces, "was one of the best things I did in my life," raves Visnjic, 28, a former paratrooper in the Croatian army. "If they have a list for the space shuttle, I'll be the first one." Palladino's flight was a bit more turbulent. "I got knocked out!" says the actor, 32, who briefly lost consciousness during a jolting G-force hit. "My character is supposed to be tough, I can't be the fighter plane wuss!" <<