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Flight Simulator For The Avro Lancaster Four Engined Bomber Sitting Behind Your Very Own Computer Desk
The moment I write this I am 64 years old and so is the peace that followed World War II. This means that I'm "post war", which is the way I want to keep it! It also means that I only saw the Avro Lancaster impressive in peaceful fly-by's which is a scarce enough happening anyway, considering that there are only two (!) airworthy Lancs left in the whole wide world. There's very little airtime to be shared among the enthusiastic candidates, so there are probably less than a dozen people who get to fly a real Lancaster from the left seat every once in a while.
The closest us lowly earth dwellers can come to flying Lancasters, is via flight simulation. I am dedicated to Microsofts Flight Simulator X, in which I fly "my own" version of the Lancaster B1, a hybrid based on the "Wings of Power" version for exterior and flight dynamics, and for the panel on just about everything up to and including not only the kitchen sink but also the bath tub, the toilet bowl and the hot water boiler (grin)!. From dozens of available panels that I collected in years of flight simming, I conceived a strictly personal panel version.
Panel rearranging required!
There are several reasons for me to design my own panels. Initially because there's no out of the box Avro Lancaster panel available that looks to my liking. Secondly because existing panels put the simulated captains eyepoint somewhere in the center point of the cockpit, like straight behind the engine controls. That's truly bad because it takes away much of the illusion or immersion. Although my real world flying experiences are sadly confined to single engined pipsqueeks like Cessna 172 and Piper Cherokee, I know that Lancaster pilots did not sit with their precious crotch shoved painfully into the throttle quadrant of their Avro Lancaster bomber!
My own panels deliver a more natural pilots position, and considerably enlarged gauges. Simulation, including flight simulation, is make-believe - and I don't really care about the panel lay-out being realistic: I want it to look and feel realistic within the confines of a computer screen!!
The physical controls
To produce a acceptable amount of realism, flying your simulated Lanc with the keyboard or mouse won't do. If you can even remotely afford it, a steering yoke is an absolute must, with a set of pedals as a perfect second. Fortunately such hardware add-ons are available in a wide price range, from very indestructible but equally expensive, to somewhat wobbly but easily affordable for most of us.
Concerning this subject I have a confession to make. Some six years ago I got the cheapest yoke and pedals I could get, and I'm still using them without a problem and to my continuing satisfaction! In those years I must have bought a couple of thousand dollars worth of other simulator expansions, but I never saw any reason for discarding my old and faithful pedals/yoke set! Sure, eventually I'll replace them, even if it is only on account of normal wear and tear from almost daily use, but it's not necessary yet.
A very flustered face!
I won't say that a relatively simple computer simulation like MicroSoft Flight Simulator can ever give you the joy of flying the real thing, but sometimes it comes astonishingly close. I've made many a simulated landing under conditions that turned my brow sweaty with concentration, and sweaty with almost real fear! Nor am I the only one with such experiences. I think it was around 2004 that an RAF flight crew performed an MS-simulated famous Dam Busters raid. Those jet pilots and "Anything, Anywhere, Anytime" types left their specifically constructed after their hours long flight with a healthy respect for Microsofts simulation software, and for the good old Avro Lancaster bomber. You won't see them looking down on "that game" or "that old bomber" anymore!
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