A little background first...

Picture the scene - here I was back in June on a tropical beach in Far North Queensland celebrating my 44th birthday - not much to think about other than whether it was time for the first cold beer of the day!

Enter my dear wife, not with cold beer, but with 3 parcels - my presents at last!

Open parcel no. 1 - a diecast model of a Qantas 747-400 - fine me thinks, just my wife's way of telling me the next holiday is planned.

Open parcel no. 2 - Qantas tickets from Perth, Western Australia (where we live) to Sydney - holiday idea confirmed.

Open parcel no. 3 - a letter from Qantas confirming a booking on one of their flight simulators for August 2 (which just happens to be our wedding anniversary)!

The Qantas Boeing 747 simulator

As fellow flight sim enthusiasts you will have some understanding of my reaction...disbelief, then excitement, then very shortly thereafter utter trepidation! Time for that beer!

I've been flying sims since FS98, and spend far too much time doing so according to my wife, and consider myself reasonably proficient, but by no means an expert. So how the hell will I cope with a real simulator!?

Once home from leave it is time to hit the e-mail to Qantas to finalise the arrangements. At this point my first thank you to Qantas (the world's best airline--and if you are reading this to Dimi of Flight Ops. in particular) - they were truly wonderful in answering my every query. Eventually I was booked on a 747-400 on Saturday 2 August at 7 pm with Captain John Grant.

My preference is for the heavies, and despite being a little long in the tooth now, my favorite remains the PSS 747-400 Professional. How will it compare?

As the big day approaches spending even more time on the sim (sorry dear!), not to mention watching the video that comes with the PSS 747-400 package.

I was as ready as I was ever going to be. Help!

Depart Perth for Sydney flying Qantas (who else) late on a Thursday afternoon - with the help of the ever present tail winds flying west arrive just under 4 hours later (the flight back takes around 5 hours!).

As a thank you to my dear wife spend 2 days hitting the shops, but Saturday evening cannot come quickly enough.

6 pm on Saturday 2 August - time for the taxi to the Qantas Jet Base at Mascot. Arrive at security, and wait for Captain Grant. Nervous - you bet!

Enter Captain John Grant - first things first - sign the indemnity form in case I break something - what is the likelihood of breaking a AUS$30m simulator!? - what would the bank manager say? Also time to hand over the dollars - did I not mention that before, this experience costs serious money.

Time to go - we walk over to the simulator centre - we look through one of the windows and Captain Grant explains that this is simulator no. 7 and will be the one we will be using. I ask for my money back! This thing is huge - a behemoth standing on stilts 30 feet in the air, and moving (it was being used at the time).

My wife, Jocelyn, in the first officers seat

Captain Grant explains that the seven simulators (747-400, 747-200 and 767) are in almost 24x7 use - it is not uncommon for him to be carrying out check sessions at 3 am.

Following a brief tour of the hugely impressive facility we enter the sim over a gang way, and in we go.

I've visited flight decks before (pre 9/11) and these places never cease to install a sense of awe.

There has been no briefing - Captain Grant had asked on the way over what experience I had, only to be met with the reply that it was all flightsim based - no reaction but I could almost see what he was thinking.

"Take a seat" I am told. Which I do - the pilots - my wife takes the first officers for the time being (refer to picture above). I look around.

First thoughts and time for comparison to the PSS 747-400 - despite all the instruments now being set out expansively before me, it is with relief that much is familiar.

Looking straight ahead the glareshield, primary flight display, EICAS are all comfortingly familiar, as is the overhead and throttle panels including the FMC, although there are a number of differences in location of a few instruments, but nothing too major. The biggest difference is the navigation/radio panel, but hopefully I won't have too much to do with that! The PSS 747-400 does not even try to replicate that panel.

I am sitting miles away from the control stick - how do you move the chair? Fumble underneath and at the side for a lever, and eventually find the correct one - the chair swings in slightly and then forward. The rudder pedals are still too far away - what now? At this point Captain Grant explains that is what the little handle immediately below the primary flight display is for. Now sitting comfortably, and pull on the full harness.

"Where do you want to take off from?".

After a moments hesitation "Runway 21 at Perth" (my home town). Within seconds I am looking at runway 21 at YPPH (note to Microsoft: the FS2002 scenery for this airport, particularly the surrounding countryside, is shockingly bad - there are no hills that close to the airport!). Captain Grant busies himself programming the FMC for a flight to Adelaide, South Australia.

"It's your take-off"! Try to calm down, and repeat what I have done hundreds of times sitting in the comfortable familiarity of my study at home staring at my PC.

The sim has been set up with engines running, so I call for flaps 20 - because my wife is still in the co-pilots seat Captain Grant leans over the carries out the command. Turn the autobrake to "RTO" - it feels very, very strange turning a real switch rather than clicking a mouse.

Flight Director "on", "auto-throttle "on", altitude set for "5000", heading set for a straight out departure.

Check lights are set, passenger signs are on (that switch turns out to be a long way behind you on the navigation/radio panel).

What have I forgotten - can't remember, so time to go - it will either get off the ground or it won't!

Start to advance the throttles - Captain Grant says initially about 1 inch until stabilised - they are stiffer than I expect - then max power. We're moving.

Next new experience is using the rudder pedals to keep it straight on the runway (keep your feet touching the floor as I am told). Not entirely on the centre line, but not too bad.

Speed build up is slower than I imagined (or am I just imagining it). The sound effects are very realistic (developers please note!).

Soon however V1 and VR is called (can't remember V2 being called!?) and I pull back on the stick - 13 degrees nose up I hear from the background, and we rotate - amazingly smoothly - the stick is firm but responsive - PC joysticks do not come close to replicating the effect. My study chair does not give me that sensation!

Climbing now I call for gear up and again Captain Grant leans forward from the observers chair and executes the command. "Thank you".

If I have missed any detail I apologise, but was concentrating way too much on trying to climb out. Speed builds up slowly (much slower than I am used to with the PSS 747-400 - the flight dynamics are not right in that regard) which probably explains why I have not had to call for any flap retraction yet. After what seems a long time I can call for flaps 10/5/1/up, which Captain Grant duly executes.

Oh! the power of it all, beats pressing "G" and "F6" anytime. This is surreal.

I've actually taken off.

Virtually no time to look out of the cockpit window, but when I do there is not much similarity to the scenery using FS2002. FS2002 is actually much more detailed, and very few aircraft are around, either at the airport or flying around (I only ever encountered one in the air on TCAS--especially when you have become used to using UltimateTraffic) - and those aircraft which are there are generically painted. Later on during discussion with Captain Grant he explained that "eye-candy" was not what the sim was all about - all the pilots were concerned about was accuracy of the runways, placement of hills, and nav aids - anything else was largely superfluous.

Then horror of horrors, Captain Grant leans over and switches off the flight director and the auto-throttle - "You will have to manually fly the SID. Climb to 5000 and maintain 250 knots." Help - by this time I would normally be on full autopilot, LNAV, VNAV etc.

But we continue to climb out, and eventually have to execute a left turn towards the first way point. I cannot believe I am doing this. We approach 5000 and I lower the nose only to find the speed increasing - surprise, surprise in retrospect, but at the time what do I do now - OK back off the throttles, which is where the fun begins.

This is called trimming the aeroplane, not something I have had to do before (sorry I haven't) - where the hell are the switches - it turns out they are on the control stick at the top left under my thumb. This aircraft is so responsive.

After a few commanded turns, I am then instructed to climb to 20000 feet and maintain 280 knots (thankfully we use FLCH for this). You can actually feel the sensation of thrust as the engines power up for the climb - how do they do that - I want this at home!. I spend the next 15 minutes or so (time flies when you are enjoying yourself, or to be more accurate when you are so busy concentrating) following commanded turns by Captain Grant, at the same time trying to maintain 280 knots and 20000 feet - easy you say - try it some time without the flight director and auto throttle! I would like to say that I kept the aircraft at the right pitch, bank angle and speed, but I didn't - at times we were a bit like a roller coaster - my apologies to the 400 imaginary passengers, not to mention my wife who later admitted to feeling a little airsick! I however can honestly say that at times I was not aware of any motion, so hard was I concentrating - take-offs and landings were a different story.

Ours truly and Captain Grant hidden in the co-pilot's seat

However, things slowly improved with practice, and eventually Captain Grant switched the flight director, auto-throttle and heading selector back on to give me some (well-earned in my view) respite.

Now for a landing - I explained that I normally do full IFR auto lands, so Captain Grant agrees that the first landing can be one - the sim is paused and the data for an IFR approach into Avalon, Victoria is programmed (not sure why he picked that airport) - an altitude of 3000 is set, and 230 knots. Later Captain Grant explains that most Qantas pilots, particularly after a long haul sector, will manually fly an approach.

By this time my wife has vacated the co-pilot's seat and Captain Grant takes over.

First thing is to fly a heading to intercept the glide slope, and to slow the plane to 180 knots - eventually flaps 10 are called for and Captain Grant executes. I press the "approach" button, the diamond is one notch above the centre, so I call for gear down, and again this is carried out for me. The nose pitches down, and I insert the flaps 20 speed on the indicator, and call for flaps 20, which is done, followed very shortly thereafter by setting the flap 30 speed of 147 knots, and calling for flaps 30.

Rotate the auto-brake to "3", check the speed brake is armed - which while I have been busy Captain Grant has done for me! Start to change the display to approach mode, only to be told generally it is left in map mode even for ILS approaches.

At 1500 feet all 3 three AP lights illuminate, and we continue our descent at 800 feet/per minute - this plane is so stable! Captain Grant sets the missed approach settings.

400 to go - at 100 feet engines retard, and we begin our flare -10 to go, and touchdown - time for reverse thrust, but again no "F2" - takes a few seconds to figure out how to engage, but eventually get there - again the sound (and sensation) is so real.

Captain Grant calls out 80 knots and I disengage reverse thrust, and manually brake using the pedals. Bring the aircraft to a full stop on the runway - no taxiing at this point.

I cannot believe I have landed this beautiful aircraft - OK with a little help!

To cut a longer story short (the whole adventure took 2 hours or so) we do two more take-offs and landings, one landing with me acting as co-pilot and Captain Grant doing a manual VFR approach. Oh to have that skill. We end up finally landing at Cairns International, Queensland, and I am asked to taxi to the terminal - now that is how they turn on the ground - using a tiller on my left hand side! (Next time try and remember to disengage the autopilot before taxiing!).

Conclusions

• Obviously there are enormous differences between the flight sims we are used to and the "real" thing some of which I hope I have successfully managed to convey in this article
• however PSS 747-400 (and those others which we all use, e.g. A320 Professional, DreamFlight 737-400) comes as close as can be reasonably expected to its real life equivalent for the money. Sure all the panels are not exactly true to life, the flight dynamics are not quite correct (particularly for take off and climb out), and the sound effects are nowhere near realistic, but a very good job for the price we pay to enjoy our hobby
• it is truly amazing that with only flightsim experience it was at all possible to make a reasonable attempt at flying this incredibly complex machine (Captain Grant gave an overall "very well done" and my wife "fantastic" - I think she may just be beginning to understand the obsession!)
• overall an amazing experience never to be forgotten - exhausting, nerve racking and exhilarating all at the same time

And finally...

A big thank you to Qantas for the experience, in particular to Dimi at Flight Ops. for arranging it all, to Captain John Grant for his patience and utter professionalism, and last but by no means least to my wife, Jocelyn, for organising this memorable experience.

Time to start saving for next year...

Alan Ramage
Perth, Western Australia
aramage@bigpond.net.au