Fly An Airliner : The Flying Experience

Here is a dream of mine that finally came true in late June 2011. After a lot of thought, I decided to go to Amsterdam. Not for its Red Light District, or the city with a million of bikes. No, if I went there it was to go to Schiphol to visit the Flight Simulation Company. This is where the Flight Simulator Experiences are offered by FlyAnAirliner, where I spent quite some time in the cockpit of one of the most common commercial aircraft, the Boeing 737 (and to be completely accurate the 737-800).

My appointment with my instructor and copilot Peter on June 30th. I was picked up at the exit of the airport and taken to the opposite side, to the Fokker Logistics Park where the Flight Simulation Company buildings are. This game me the opportunity to see a bit of the very busy area around the airport, and to get ready for the simulator session, which can run from 1 to 4 hours.

Once I arrived, the first step was a briefing. The airplane was introduced, with its instruments, systems, and the philosophy of the aircraft. This step was very short for me as I already have a good knowledge of the aircraft. I knew where to look for the required information, which saved a bit of time. However, those who never walked in or saw a cockpit would be well taught about it, and have enough knowledge to fly it.

The simulator itself, which is exclusively about flying in the 737-800, is exactly what professional pilots use to train. We had an introduction to the simulator's emergency procedures, as we are a couple of meters about ground. There were a few big red "Stop" buttons that cause an emergency shutdown should something go really wrong. Afterwards, it was time to get inside and take the left seat, the one that is normally used by the captain.

It would be difficult to talk about everything that I did in details. The great part of my flight program is you do anything you want to do, just have to ask the instructor. I had a few things I wanted to do specifically.

The first situation I had chosen to go with was a few airport circuits. This included a takeoff followed by two touch and go, and then a complete landing. This helped me get the feel of the aircraft and how it behaves. Next, it was the time to make the full flight I had chosen: a short Paris to London flight so that I would use the Flight Management Computer, but as on any other flights situation I met it was in manual that I flew between both airports. The only help I had was from the Flight Director, who I followed as best as I could. During that first flight there was a nice big cloud that created turbulence. In reality you would avoid it, but in the simulator it was to feel the effect on the aircraft and to keep the aircraft under control and avoid overreacting to each drastic change caused by turbulence. On this flight we used the KLM checklists and procedures.

Next I went over many different situations. Most of these were landings, a point on which I'd still need a lot more practice. I land the airplane on the ground, but let's just say too firmly. I must have done only one very soft landing, the luck of the beginner I guess. The conditions I experienced were landing on both long and short runways, snow, strong cross wind, with an engine out, and with a CAT 1 or CAT 2 visibility (where you only see the runway at the very last moment). Other situations were engine loss during take off both before and after V1 (when the airplane is committed to take off), and smoke in the cockpit with the use of an oxygen mask. Landings with various settings, with or without speedbrakes, with or without automatic braking, emergency descent at about 10,000 feet per minute (with landing gear down and speedbrakes extended to really get the fastest possible descent speed). This is the type of landing done when there is a loss of pressure in the cabin or a windshear on take off. It would be difficult to mention every detail of every situation as there were just too many. I asked to be surprised in order to really explore the aircraft behaviors. Sometimes Peter would just throw the situation without warning me just to see, and it seems I did not handle things too badly.

Near the end of my time in the simulator, we inverted roles. It was my time to be the pilot, monitoring and to take the support role of the First officer. That way I got to experience both sides of the work during my simulator time. I went through many things like systems activation, engine start sequence, FMC usage. This last part was also something I asked to do, it is not mandatory. If I had wanted to, I could have kept the command until the end. It was nice to see the aircraft perfectly handled.

What can I say about the sensations? It was really very nice. The simulator was very sensitive, reacting to the smallest action. You really feel that the action you are doing is right or not and soft for the passengers. What surprised me the most is probably the force required to put on the yoke, which is really nothing compared to what I would use on a computer joystick. The strength you need to use is really much greater than I thought, and you get to understand the importance of autopilot, but also of the trim to reduce the strength you need to put on the controls. Outside of this it is really a perfect copy of the real cockpit. One discovery I made was that many of the little switches are not just flipping switches but that you have to pull and then move it just a small bit for a big part of them. That is impossible to really feel on PC simulator but that you do have to know.

That is just a brief summary of what I experienced in the simulator. It is not the least expensive thing to do, but it is also possible to go with one or two other people and share the cost, and also experience it with your friends. It was a very gratifying experience that I recommend to all those who have a passion for flight. It is the most authentic experience that can be found. I thank Peter with whom everything was really nice, he was very attentive and interesting. It was a pleasure to fly and discover this aircraft through his directions.