Simulator adventures, a flight to fantasy.

Simulator Adventures 18th August 2023

It was my 70th birthday and Sheila said today was going to be a surprise day. I was intrigued and I had no idea of what or where I was driving to. We arrived at the Holiday Inn and parked up, I didn't get out of the car as Sheila went into the hotel and sorted out the parking ticket.

She came back to the car and gave me a small wrapped present. Upon opening it my first reaction on seeing the smart box and the wings logo was is this something from Breitling company.

I opened the box. It was a flight ticket. More intriguing. The ticket was for a flight Bergen to Oslo in an Airbus A320. I still hadn't clicked as the ticket was so real. How are we getting to Bergen I asked?

Just a short walk from here Sheila replied with a smile.

We arrived at a flight simulation unit within a few minutes walk. 

We met Alan and Stuart, both ex pilots and their 2 dogs, a beautiful lurcher and border terrier.

The office is just like being in first class on a plane with genuine aircraft seating. Much comfier than what I am used to travelling cattle class. Even free chilled drinks.

We had a chat about what to expect and the route. You can pick your route or have a route suggested. It all depends on the software availability. 

Prior to our flight, I as the captain and Sheila as the passenger received our instructions ie fuel requirements, weights, centre of gravity etc. Also we had our route charts and beacons, runway and weather. All exactly as would be given to real captains.

I got into the pilots seat, which costs a wapping £125,000 and adjusted the height. My instructor walked me through the pre flight check list. Then explained what all the instruments and switches did. A little daunting at first sight but splitting all the lights and switch banks into groups makes life just a bit easier.

Then we were ready for take off. 

Here are 2 short videos. The first one is preparing to take off and the second is the take off.

 The video doesn't pick up the small steering wheel for the nose wheel or the fly by wire joystick in my left hand.

During the flight which lasted one and a half hours, there was lots of questions and answers but unfortunately no drinks trolley or inflight food. The scenery was spectacular and we checked the weather at Oslo airport as we went.

The instructor gave me a couple of emergency problems to resolve which was 'wheels would not lower' and a plane was coming at us on the same trajectory and the same height. I won't say here how the problems were resolved as it would spoil anyones visit. But as we are still alive all went well.

There is plenty to do and checks to be made and the time passed so quickly. Then there was the small job of landing. Everything is the same as a std commercial airliner so I felt a bit nervous about doing it but the instructor gives you confidence and guides you through it.

Here is the video of my landing.

Having done the flight I have to say what a fantastic experience I had. It was never on my thoughts to have a go at doing this, I never suggested at any time in the past that I wouldn't mind doing it. So how Sheila came up with this is still a mystery.

The guys at Simulator Adventures in Salford are fantastic and they do flights in other aircraft so check out their website if this post has taken a grip on your imagination. I have kept this post brief so that I don't spoil the adventure for others but I assure you that you will not regret giving it a go.