Lancaster veteran said simulator 'even smells right'
BBCA replica cockpit of an Avro Lancaster Bomber has been installed at the Spitfire and Hurricane Memorial Museum in Manston, Kent.
The simulator has been built over six years by retired electronics engineer Norman Groom, 86, using original salvaged parts, alongside measurements taken from a Lancaster in the Imperial War Museum.
The sound of the Merlin engines will be piped into the cockpit.
A senior RAF officer with experience of flying Lancasters said the simulator "feels like the real thing".
The cockpit was the dream of former museum trustee and volunteer Jerry Abrahams, who flew 31 missions in Lancasters.
Dennis Jackson, a museum trustee, said: “When the cockpit first arrived at the museum, Jerry sat in it and his hands automatically reached for the controls.
"His comment was, 'It even smells like a Lancaster'.”
Mr Abrahams died in January aged 99, and his mission symbols have been placed on the side of the cockpit in his honour.
Taking the controls when the simulator was unveiled was museum Patron Air Marshal Sean Reynolds, who usually flies helicopters.
He was able to use a large screen which gives the pilot a computer generated view through the front windows.
He said: “Its all very authentic. I've flown in the RAF Lancaster and this looks and feels like the real thing.
“We flew out over Sandwich and over the Channel and then back over Ramsgate Harbour and then landed back at the airstrip.
“My dad, who is a flight engineer and flew Lancasters, was with me, and I asked him what he made of my landing. He said it was it was okay - I'll take that as a compliment.”
Former Concorde pilot Roger Dixon also had a go at the controls.
"The basic flying panel is the same as Concorde, but I reckon this is easier to fly,” he said.
The fully functional cockpit is believed to be one of the only genuine Lancasters which can be flown as a simulator.
The attraction will be available to book from the end of May.
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