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Simulating The Avro Lancaster Four Engined Bomber Sitting Behind Your Very Own Computer Desk
The day I write this I am 64 years old and so is the peace that followed the Second World War. This means that I'm from "after the war", and that's the way I want to keep it! It also means that I only saw Roy Chadwick's Avro Lancaster impressive in post-war fly-by's which is a scarce enough happening, considering that there are only two (!) flyable Lancs left in the whole wide world. There's very little airtime to be shared among the eager crowd, so there are probably not even a dozen people who get to fly a real Lancaster from the left seat every once in a while.
The closest us sorry ground hogs can come to flying a "true" Lancaster, is via simulation. I am dedicated to Microsofts Flight Simulator X, in which I fly "my own" version of the B1 Lancaster, a hybrid based on the "Wings of Power" version for exterior and flight dynamics, and for the 2-D panel on just about everything including the kitchen sink. From lots of available panels and gauges that I collected during the years, I made a strictly individual panel version.
Panel redrawing required!
There are several reasons for me to design my own flightsim panels. Firstly, of course, because there's no existing Lancaster panel available that looks to my liking. Secondly because available panels put the simulated pilots position somewhere in the lateral center of the cockpit, like straight behind the throttle and propeller levers. That's truly bad because it takes away much of the illusion or immersion. Although my real world flying experiences are sadly confined to light single engine aircraft like Cessna 172 and Piper Cherokee, I know that Lancaster pilots did not sit with their family jewels shoved painfully into the throttle/propeller quadrants of their Avro Lancaster bomber!
My panel redesigns produce a much more natural pilots position, and considerably enlarged instruments. Simulation, including flight simulation, is illusion - and I don't give a fig about the panel lay-out being realistic: I want it to look and feel realistic within the confines of a computer screen!!
The controls and such
To realize a decent level of realism, flying your digital Avro 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 coming in a close second. Fortunately such hardware add-ons are available in a wide price range, from remarkably sturdy but equally expensive, to somewhat wobbly but easily in the affordability sector of most of us.
Now, bashfully I have a confession to make. Some six years ago I got the cheapest yoke and pedals I could get, and I still use them without a problem and to my complete satisfaction! In those years I must have acquired a couple of thousand dollars worth of other flight sim equipment, 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 sweaty face!
You'll never hear me say that a relatively simple computer simulation like MS Flight Simulator X can ever give you the joy of flying the real thing, but sometimes it comes astonishingly close. I've made lots of simulated landings under conditions that turned my face sweaty 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 trained for, and eventually flew, an MS-simulated historic Dam Busters raid. Those fighter jocks and "Anything, Anywhere, Anytime" types left the simulator after their last more or less successful flight with a healthy respect for flight simulation, and for the good old Avro Lancaster bomber. You won't see them looking down on "that game" or "that old bomber" anymore!
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