Simflying The Avro Lancaster Heavy Bomber Sitting Behind Your Own Computer

 

The day 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 exactly the way I want to keep it! It also means that I only saw Roy Chadwick's Avro Lancaster beautiful in post-war fly-by's which is a scarce enough happening anyway, considering that there are only two (!) airworthy Lancasters left in the whole wide world. There's very little airtime to be shared among the eager crowd, so there are probably not even 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 an airborn Lancaster, is via a flight simulator. I am dedicated to Microsofts Flight Simulator X, in which I fly "my own" version of the B1 Lancaster, a hybrid based on the "Wings of Power" version for exterior and flight dynamics, and for the 2-D panel on just about everything up to and including the kitchen sink. Out of many existing panels that I collected in years of flight simming, I conceived a strictly personal panel version.

Panel redrawing required!

There are several reasons for me to design my own flightsim panels. Mainly because there's no existing Lancaster panel available that is to my liking. Secondly because existing panels put the simulated eyepoint somewhere in the center point of the cockpit, like straight behind the throttle and propeller levers. That's truly bad because it takes away much of the illusion or immersion. Although my real world flying experiences are sadly confined to light single engine aircraft like Cessna 172 and Piper Cherokee, I know that Lancaster pilots did not sit with their valuable parts shoved painfully into the throttle/propeller quadrants of their Avro Lancaster bomber!

My panel redesigns produce a much more natural pilots position, and considerably enlarged instruments and gauges. Simulation, including flight simulation, is make-believe - and I don't care much about the panel lay-out being realistic: I want it to look and feel realistic within the confines of a computer screen!!

The controls and such

To realize a sufficient level of realism, flying your simulated bomber 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 coming in a close second. Fortunately these additions are available in a wide price range, from pleasantly indestructible but equally expensive, to somewhat wobbly but easily affordable for most of us.

Now, bashfully I have a confession to make. Some six years ago I got the cheapest yoke and pedals I could get, and I still use them without a problem and to my continuing joy! In those years I must have acquired a couple of thousand dollars worth of other flight sim equipment, 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 is far from necessary yet.

A red and flustered face!

I won't say that a relatively simple computer simulation like MicroSoft Flight Simulator X can ever give you the joy of flying the real thing, but sometimes it comes astonishingly close. I've made lots of simulated landings under conditions that turned my whole head red with concentration, and sweaty with almost physical fear! Nor am I the only one with such experiences. I think it was around 2004 that an RAF flight crew trained for, and eventually flew, an MS-simulated historic Raid of the Dam Busters. Those fighter pilots and "Anything, Anywhere, Anytime" types left their unique simulator after their tiring flight with a healthy respect for flight simulation, 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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