New Year Lift Off

Here we are at the start of the New Year and Christmas seems quite distant.  However, having sourced an interesting holiday gift for my guy, it seemed a good time to add some cheer to the first week of 2014 by booking his holiday event.

My guy seems to have everything from techie stuff to sports gear and more.  I was determined to find a surprising gift without resorting to any of those items. Serious thinking led to a eureka moment.  I recalled a summer press event that introduced me to Emirates Aviation Experience, a new installation in North Greenwich that features the latest in flight simulators… the UK’s only Airbus A380 as well as a Boeing 777. This, I thought, was certain to intrigue my favourite man who always enjoys something spectacularly different.

Easily accessible by tube, you exit at North Greenwich and after a well-posted five minute walk you come to  Edmund Halley Way and the Aviation Experience centre which features not only simulators but interaction displays. The baggage handling visual is excellent. The half scale Lego model of the Rolls Royce engine, impressively made up of 165,000 Lego bricks, is amazing.

There are rows of economy class seats to try out and a life size model of the A380 nose cone. This was a good build up and excitement mounted when the overhead departure notice flashed my guys name and he was presented with a boarding pass.  We took the stairs in the aircraft model to the second level where we were greeted by the trained staff member who would give needed instructions.  After a look at the actual mega size A380 cockpit we took seats at the controls in the A380 simulator area.  My guy the pilot, and myself as co- pilot.

Our instructor explained procedure for take -off and  landing (flight is static) and asked his choice of airport, weather and time of day. Heathrow and London City in daytime were opted for.  Heathrow came naturally to my guy after familiarizing himself with the controls (coordination is important), and he pushed back, took off handily and made an impressive landing.  London City was a real challenge. Take off was harder and landing difficult. He nearly demolished some high rise buildings near O2 and had to circle several times before an almost touch down but he found it exciting nevertheless. Returning to Heathrow was fine with time to enjoy the airborne landscape.  It was voted a thrilling experience to be tried again… a great gift for any occasion.

www.aviation-experience.com

Minimum age for participation is 9 years and all 9 to 12’s must have an accompanying adult.
Adult entrance fee: £3.00    -   Child entrance fee: £1.50
Each 30 minute simulator session £45.00 per participant (e.g. pilot and co-pilot)
Open Mon-Sun 10:00a.m.-  17:30 p.m.  Coffee shop: 10:00-18:00 p.m.
A tip: Emirate’s web site is not quite up to date for 2014 so phoning 020 3440 7020 is a good idea.


Written by Doris Gilbert. Doris is a free lance journalist and an expat American who has lived in London for several decades.  She has worked with German, Irish and British magazines and is a correspondent with FOCUS, covering many diverse subjects.
For more information about FOCUS visit: www.focus-info.org