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Flight Simulating The Avro Lancaster 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 World War II. 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 heavy bomber in post-war 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 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 lowly earth dwellers 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 bomber, a hybrid based on the "Wings of Power" version for exterior and flight dynamics, and for the 2-D panel on just about everything up to and including the kitchen sink. From lots of existing panels that I collected in years of flight simming, I made a completely individual panel.
Panel rearranging required!
There are two reasons to design my own flightsim panels. Mainly because there's no ready made Lancaster bomber panel available that is to my liking. Secondly because existing panels put the simulated pilots position somewhere in the middle of the cockpit, like straight behind the throttle 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 light single engine aircraft 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 much more natural pilots position, and considerably enlarged instruments and gauges. 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
To realize 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 additions are available in a wide price range, from pleasantly sturdy but equally expensive, to somewhat wobbly but easily in the affordability sector of most of us.
And now I have a confession to make. Some six years ago I got the cheapest yoke and pedals that I could find, and I still use 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 it is far from necessary yet.
A red and flustered face!
You'll never hear me say that a relatively simple computer simulation like MS Flight Sim can ever give you the joy of flying the real thing, but sometimes it comes surprisingly close. I've made lots of simulated landings 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 historic Raid of the Dam Busters. Those fighter pilots and "Anything, Anywhere, Anytime" types left the simulator after their last more or less successful flight with a healthy respect for MSFS-X, 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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