The day I write this I am 64 years old and so is the peace that followed World War Two. 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 WW-2bomber in peaceful fly-by's which is a scarce enough happening, 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 not even a dozen people who get to fly a real Lancaster from the left seat every once in a while.

The closest us mere mortals can come to flying Lancasters, 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 model, and for the panel on just about everything including not only the kitchen sink but also the bath tub, the toilet bowl and the hot water boiler (grin)!. Out of dozens of existing panels that I collected all over the place, I created a my personal panel.

Panel redrawing required!

I've got two reasons to design my own panels. Firstly, of course, because there's no out of the box Lancaster bomber panel available that is to my liking. Secondly because all available panels put the simulated captains eyepoint somewhere in the center of the cockpit, like straight behind the throttle and propeller levers. That's no good: 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 valuable parts shoved painfully into the throttle quadrant of their Avro Lancaster bomber!

My own panels show a much more natural pilots position, and considerably enlarged instruments. Simulation, including flight simulation, is simply illusion - 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

In order to produce a sufficient level 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 right on its heels. Fortunately these additions are available in a wide price range, from remarkably strong 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 available, and I'm still using them without a problem and to my complete satisfaction! In those years I must have bought a couple of thousand dollars worth of other flight simulator hardware and software, 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 sweaty face!

I will never 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 pretty darn close. I've made many a simulated landing under conditions that turned my face 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 flew an MS-simulated historic Raid of the Dam Busters. Those fighter jocks and "Anything, Anywhere, Anytime" types left their specifically constructed after their exhausting final flight with a healthy respect for flight simulation, and for the good old Avro Lancaster. You won't see them looking down on "that game" or "that old bomber" anymore!

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