Try the latest in stealth fighter technology when you fly the F35 simulator! This centre in Newcastle Upon Tyne is the only place in the UK where you can get your hands on the controls of the Lockheed Martin F-35 military jet the RAF’s anticipated replacement for the awesome Harrier in years to come.
Known as the Lightning II the world’s most expensive Joint Strike Fighter plane has been a long time coming. A project that dates right back to 1996 the maiden flight for the F-35 was in December 2006 and with a plethora of adjustments tweaks and re-designs the first aircraft was delivered in July 2011 but Lockheed Martin’s jewel in the aviation crown was not fully operational with a squadron until July 2015.
So you’ll be one of the first civilian flyers to get the insider lowdown on this incredible jet. Inside the real thing the cockpit is more like an IT laboratory with a full panel width glass touchscreen replacing all those dials gauges and knobs you might expect to see in an aeroplane and it’s just like this in the simulated version of the F-35 too.
Indeed the F35 is a plane that boasts fully integrated avionics and stealth technology such as its low-radar presence shape and design features right down to a special finer-mat coating that renders the Lightning II pretty impossible to detect. Nice one Lockheed Martin!
We think you’ll be as impressed with this simulator as you will be with the capabilities of the plane. In reality there are three different versions of the F35 the standard one the one that does vertical take offs (thanks to a lift system by Rolls Royce in a Harrier style) and the one that is made for aircraft carriers. On this experience you’ll be able to test those Pratt and Whitney power plants to the max as you try a little super cruise at a mind-bendingly fast Mach 1.2 and generally have a whale of a time playing in the skies.
If you want to mix your F35 simulator experience up a bit you can combine three very different aircraft together for the ultimate session in simulated flight as you take on not only the formidable F35 Lightning II but also the workhouse of the skies; the Boeing 737 and the iconic legend that is the Spitfire all in simulated form without ever leaving the ground of course!
