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The day I write this I am 64 years old and so is the peace that followed World War Two. 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 the Avro Lancaster WW-2bomber in post-war 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 not even a dozen people who get to fly a real Lancaster from the left seat every once in a while.

The closest us mere mortals 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 Lancaster B1, a hybrid based on the "Wings of Power" version for exterior and flight model, and for the 2-D 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 and gauges that I collected all over the place, I made a strictly individual panel version.

Panel rearranging required!

I've got two reasons to design my own flightsim panels. Firstly, of course, because there's no out of the box Lancaster bomber panel available that looks to my liking. Secondly because all available panels put the simulated pilots position somewhere in the lateral center of the cockpit, like straight behind the engine controls. That's no good: 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 quadrant of their Avro Lancaster bomber!

My own panels show 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 physical controls

In order to realize 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 remarkably 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 available, and I still use them without a problem and to my complete 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 sweaty 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 pretty darn close. I've made lots of simulated landings under conditions that turned my face sweaty 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 jocks and "Anything, Anywhere, Anytime" types left the simulator after their last more or less successful flight with a healthy respect for Microsofts simulation software, and for the good old Avro Lancaster. You won't see them looking down on "that game" or "that old bomber" anymore!

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