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 Roy Chadwick's Avro Lancaster bomber in peacetime fly-by's which is a scarce enough happening anyway, considering that there are only two (!) flyable 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 real 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 model, and for the 2-D instrument panel on just about everything up to and including the kitchen sink. Out of dozens of available panels and gauges that I collected all over the place, I made a strictly individual panel version.

Panel redrawing required!

I've got two reasons to design my own panels and gauges. Mainly because there's no existing Avro Lancaster panel available that is to my liking. Secondly because all available panels put the pilots position somewhere in the lateral center of the cockpit, like straight behind the throttle and prop controls. That's no good: it takes away much of the illusion or immersion. Although my real world flying experiences are sadly confined to single engines 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 deliver 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

In order to achieve a sufficient 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 as a perfect second. Fortunately these additions 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 available, and I still have and use them without a problem and to my continuing joy! In those years I must have acquired a couple of thousand dollars worth of other simulator expansions, 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 sweaty face!

You'll never hear me say that a relatively simple computer simulation like MS Flight Sim X can ever give you the joy of flying the real thing, but sometimes it comes pretty darn close. I've made quite a lot of sim 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 performed an MS-simulated historic Dam Busters raid. Those fighter jocks and "Anything, Anywhere, Anytime" types left their simulator after their last more or less successful flight with a healthy respect for flight simulation, 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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