During half term we all had a great day out in London. The boys have been working really hard at school and we wanted to have a family trip out to do something different.
A trip on the train is really the way to do it as far as I’m concerned to get up to london, it’s so nice not to have to drive and worry about the other traffic, stopping because someone wants the loo or bad weather making it a more stressful trip. On the train I can relax, have a cup of tea and we can all stretch our legs if we need to.
We had a real treat in store for us as we were invited as guests to try out the Flight Experience™ in Putney.
Flight Experience™ was the original flight simulator business to ‘open the cockpit to the world’. They are the world leader in flight simulation entertainment. The simulators are built to an extremely high standard using the latest technology in both hardware and software and in fact are used by flight schools, universities and airlines for actual pilot training. They are approved by many aviation regulatory authorities around the world.
We were warmly welcomed by Paul and Nick into the spacious reception where we watched the 6 minute information video before our experience. My OH would be taking charge of the controls and the boys and I were going to be the passengers. It was all really exciting. Scenic flights start at £109.00 and there are many different packages to choose from. The fly and dine looks great for a special occasion.
One of the attractions for us was that we could all be part of the flight. The boys and I could go into the simulator and sit in the back of the cockpit being part of the whole thing. To fly the simulator there is a guide age of 14 and height of 5ft 1′ (155cm)
Our pilot Paul took us through all the procedures needed to understand what was going to happen and what would happen during the flight. This really is as near as you are going to get to being a real pilot. The cockpit is an actual Boeing 737 twin-engine commercial aircraft. As you can see from the pictures there are so many switches, lights and aircraft paraphernalia that it is very high-tech and had the boys and I enthralled.
On our trip we took off from Heathrow (with us giggling with excitement in our seats) my other half concentrating fully and taking instruction from our pilot. We were suddenly hearing all the terms you would imagine such as ‘thrust off’, ‘spoilers’ and ‘altitude’. After flying through the sky he landed us safely back in Heathrow, to a hearty round of applause. We then were treated to a slightly more tricky landing coming into Hong Kongs Kai Tak airport which is now closed but was the international airport in Hong Kong from 1925 to 1998. It is known for its dramatic landing over the densely populated Kowloon area onto the runway jutting out into Victoria harbour. It was said to be one of the ultimate tests of a pilots skills and we did it! The graphics on the simulator as brilliant and clear, giving a realistic view of your outside surroundings. We loved it and I can highly recommend it for a gift, day out for yourself or the family.
You can actually win one in my giveaway here today. Such an amazing prize and I’m so pleased to be able to offer it to you today. Enter in the rafflecopter below.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Take command of the world’s most popular jet airliner; the Boeing 737! You will sit in the Captain’s seat and take-off, cruise and land the plane. With thousands of airports to choose from, land at a challenging airport or fly to your home town in an experience you will never forget.
We were gifted a scenic flight experience in order to carry out our review, lucky us:) All views are my own.