p30-31 Air mar6 3/3/09 17:07 Page 30
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ttglive.com
TTG duo report
from the cockpit
Ever wondered what it would be like to fly a Boeing
747? TTG’s Chris Gray and Martin Ferguson found
out when they tried their hands at training to be pilots
D
espite spending our working lives keep your eyes fixed on the visual display
writing about air travel, neither of us monitor in front. Essentially, you have to make
had ever got closer to a cockpit than sure a little white square stays as close to the
the business-class seats — until BA centre of a purple cross as possible so as
challenged us to take a pilot’s-eye view. not to veer off the pre-programmed
So we had no idea what was in store when flight path. There is obviously more to
we stepped inside the £10 million simulator at it, but that is for the qualified pilot to
BA’s training centre in Hatton Cross, next to worry about.
Heathrow. We flew out towards Windsor and
We were briefed by senior first officer banked right, so as to head back to central
Gemma Dixon, a pilot for five years, four of London. This was one of the most nerve-wrack-
A flight to the finish
them with BA, who said we would be scored ing experiences of my life. Your brain tries to
on three tasks: taking off, completing a circuit tell you that a simulator cannot crash, but you Chris Gray 69/90
and landing; landing in fog; and landing in a cannot help but panic if a warning light flashes. Martin Ferguson 67/90 (pre-bonus)
cross wind. After we were shown the control Flying over Canary Wharf was a particularly
column, brakes, throttle and seatbelt, we unnerving experience. The tips of the towers Martin’s heavy landing on his second
prepared for take-off. Here’s how we fared: poke out of the clouds like tiny sandcastles. We approach let him down, but he earned two
banked right for the final time and squared up extra points for going first. So the judges
So nerve-wracking: Report by for the 11-mile descent into Heathrow. At this ruled an official dead heat, keeping both
‘first officer’ Martin Ferguson point, your concentration must be fixed on the sides’ honours intact.
Faffing to strap myself visual display, height and speed. On our first
into the complicated safety run we did not have to worry about the wind,
harness, I gazed up the and the pilot sorted out the undercarriage. over and the runway disappeared beneath me,
runway and could see in my head, I was flying.
traffic moving on the busy Warning sound was terrifying: Taking off was easy, a simple matter of pulling
M4. The new Terminal 5 Report by ‘captain’ Chris Gray the control column back and gliding into the air.
could be seen slightly to the right of the It’s only a simulator, I said to Then the fun started. Keeping the little white
runway. It was eerily lifelike. myself, as I got strapped into square inside the purple cross was not entirely
It was early twilight and as the four engines my seat and found myself simple and I was soon moving the controls back
started up, so did the tension. I had not unable to release a hand- and forwards as the square chased the cross all
experienced an adrenaline surge like it. brake to move forward. over the screen. It felt as though my aircraft
For the fourth and final time, Gemma If I couldn’t even do that, was bouncing through the air like a kangaroo.
explained how to lift the aircraft off the ground how was I going to fly a 747, I thought, starting Gemma, understandably, decided it was
– it sounded almost too easy. She pushed the to panic. I had visions of ending up like the pilot time to land, and I calmed down a little as I
throttle forward and we started to hurtle down in Airplane, drenched in sweat with knuckles approached the runway. Suddenly a
the concrete. As we neared top speed, she turning white as I gripped the control column disembodied voice screams “decide!”. It was
calmly said: “Rotate.” for dear life. apparently a routine warning to make pilots
I slowly pulled back the control column and No matter how much my rational mind said it commit to landing or climb away for another
we lifted gently into the air. It is important to was a simulator, once the engine noise took attempt, but I found it terrifying.
30 06.03.2009
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