Join the Air Force elite with this Top Gun flight simulator experience! You will discover the thrills and intensity of being a fighter pilot in this very lifelike simulator that will see you flying a powerful jet fighter plane – in the middle of Cheshire!
On arrival at the venue you might think you’ve come to the wrong place. Nothing on the outside gives you a clue that there’s a hulking great front of a fighter jet plane inside and nothing can prepare you for what you are about to undertake. This flight simulator is proper Top Gun style with the actual front end of a real ex-Romanian Air Force’s Delfin 29 that flew under the codename RED 47. Rugged sturdy and definitely designed for function rather than comfort these impressive jets saw active service until the late 1980s.
Before you even clamber into the tight squeeze of a cockpit you will put on your genuine RAF flight suit. Once strapped into the ejector seat (which we might add has been deactivated!) it’s time to pull on your full face fighter helmet and oxygen mask complete with integrated intercom that you’ll use for communicating with your co-pilot instructor who’s in the rear seat during your simulator session. Top Gun fans will know that any decent American fighter pilot has their own call sign (think Maverick or Viper!) so why not pick your own? With all the gear and the Top Gun name you’re ready for the off…
It’s all about total immersion for this exhilarating simulated fighter pilot experience so you will carry out all the pilot duties starting with turning the engine on switching on all the lights and adjusting the flaps ready for taxing to your live runway. As to where you go you can choose your real time flight path. Many wannabe fighter pilots choose RAF Valley and head over Wales or the North West of the country for a cracking mix of low level swoops down over the valleys and some high speed sightseeing over the towns and cities.
If you’re wondering how realistic it all feels in the simulator by the time you’ve got your full fighter pilot kit on and the cockpit canopy is shut all you can see from the front is the large screen showing picture-real images. So yes it is remarkably convincing right down to the noise of the engines firing up the thunderous rumble as you accelerate on the runway and the clunking as you lower the landing gear – even all the dials switches and gauges all work.
It’s also worth mentioning that you don’t need any previous flight training to be able to pilot this Top Gun simulator and each budding fighter pilot will be supported and assisted by your flight simulator instructor pilot so you won’t be stuck struggling with take offs or constantly crashing before you get to fly at full throttle!
