A former airline pilot is offering a new course to help people conquer their fear of flying. And what makes it unusual, if not unique, is the chance to go on a flight in the cockpit of his jet simulator, which recreates the experience of taking to the skies in a Boeing 737. Captain Andy Wilkins took me on a flight from Munich airport, in Germany, for a short journey at 5,000ft above the fields, then let me take the controls as we landed. My heart was racing as we approached the runway and I struggled to keep the jet level, but with a little guidance I managed to get us down safely and taxi in to the maintenance area.
The cockpit is an exact replica of the Being 737-800, and you look out onto a screen with a real-time computer generated view. It's like being immersed in a giant computer game, complete with all the sounds. The cockpit, with banks of flashing instruments and dials, moves realistically, right down to the rumble and bumps as the wheels touch down on the runway. Your brain is telling you're in an industrial unit at Chudleigh, near Exeter. But your senses are convinced you're actually on board an aircraft.
Captain Wilkins has 30 years' experience flying Airbus and Boeing passengers jets for a leading holiday airline. But he took the chance to build the simulator at the Virtual Jet Centre to train pilots, offer flight experiences and corporate training days, and help people overcome their fears of flight.
The fear of flying course costs £100 an hour. For most people it takes three sessions to be ready to take to the skies for real. The course starts with a discussion and counselling to identify the source of the problem. The next phase is to sit in a mock-up of a passenger cabin, complete with uniformed crew. Then you can go into the cockpit, learn how the aircraft works and fly it yourself, with Capt Wilkins providing calm reassurance from the co-pilot seat.
The father-of-one fron Okehampton said: "The fear of flying is all about loss of control. When you go on an aircraft it is the one time you have to sit there with total lack of control of everything. What we are doing is empowering people through knowledge. Everyone knows somebody who has a fear of flying. You cannot cure it. We are giving people a sense that they can cope with it. We had one person who went from being fearful about flying, to being excited about the prospect. To me, that is success."
