Working at NASA Dryden includes all of your usual federal government perks like a day of paid vacation per month, full use of Air Force gymnasiums and pools, and full access to military discounts, but it also includes some more unusual perks. NASA co-op tours and other fun experiences were often part of my paid work day. From a day spent taking a tour of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab down in Pasadena to a trip to an LA airplane museum guided by senior NASA engineers, it’s all part of the perks of NASA. On a few occasions, opportunities were provided to watch research test flights from mission control, or better yet to drive out on the tower-fly-by-line and watch F-18’s and F-16’s make their high-speed low altitude, Mach 0.95, 500 ft off the deck, tower fly-bys. There were also opportunities to experience some of NASA’s classified aircraft simulators. Or get up close and personal with some of the aircraft themselves, from space-shuttle Atlantis, to hopping into a powered up F-18 cockpit, it’s all one huge perk.