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Flight Simulating The Avro Lancaster Bomber Behind Your Very Own Computer Desk
The moment I write this I am 64 years old and so is the peace that followed World War II. 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 beautiful in peaceful fly-by's which is a scarce enough happening anyway, considering that there are only two (!) airworthy Lancasters 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 lowly earth dwellers 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 dynamics, and for the panel on just about everything up to and including the kitchen sink. Out of dozens of existing panels and gauges that I collected in years of flight simming, I made a strictly personal panel version.
Panel rearranging required!
There are two reasons to design my own panels. Mainly because there's no ready made Lancaster bomber panel available that's even remotely to my liking "looks-wise". Secondly because existing panels put the pilots position somewhere in the center point of the cockpit, like straight behind the engine controls. That's truly bad because 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/propeller quadrants of their Avro Lancaster bomber!
My own panels show a more natural pilots position, and considerably enlarged 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
To produce a sufficient level of realism, flying your simulated bomber 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 things are available in a wide price range, from very sturdy but equally expensive, to somewhat wobbly but easily affordable for 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 continuing joy! In those years I must have bought for more than 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 I'm not holding my breath in either hope or despair.
A very flustered face!
You'll never hear me say that a relatively simple computer simulation like MicroSoft 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 whole head red with concentration, and sweaty with almost physical 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 Dam Busters raid. Those jet 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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