The moment I write this I am 64 years old and so is the peace that followed World War 2. This means that I'm from "after the war", which is the way I want to keep it! It also means that I only saw the Avro Lancaster heavy bomber 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 less than a dozen people who get to fly a real Lancaster from the left seat every once in a while.

The closest us earthbound ground hogs can come to flying a real Lancaster, 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 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 available panels that I collected during my flight simming years, I made a completely individual panel.

Panel rearranging required!

There are two reasons to design my own panels. Firstly because there's no out of the box Lancaster bomber panel available that looks to my liking. Secondly because all existing panels put the pilots position somewhere in the middle of the cockpit, like straight behind the throttles. 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 family jewels shoved painfully into the throttle quadrant of their Avro Lancaster bomber!

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

In order to produce a decent 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 such hardware add-ons are available in a wide price range, from pleasantly sturdy but equally expensive, to somewhat wobbly but easily in the affordability sector of most of us.

Concerning this subject I have a confession to make. Some six years ago I got the cheapest yoke and pedals that I could find, and I'm still using them without a problem and to my great 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's not necessary yet.

A red and flustered face!

You'll never hear me say that a relatively simple computer simulation like MS Flight Simulator can ever give you the joy of flying the real thing, but sometimes it comes surprisingly close. I've made many a simulated landing under conditions that turned my face red 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 famous Dam Busters raid. Those fighter pilots and "Anything, Anywhere, Anytime" types left their simulator after their hours long flight with a healthy respect for Microsofts simulation software, and for the good old Lancaster. You won't see them looking down on "that game" or "that old bomber" anymore!

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