I’m off to a flying start

As I near Dublin Airport, the view out the window looks comfortingly familiar.

There are the Dublin Mountains off in the distance and the red and white striped Poolbeg towers are just out to the left. As soon as I see Howth Head, I know it won’t be too long till we’re touching down on the runway at Dublin Airport and I’m home again.

The only snag is that I’m the one who has to get the plane safely back on the tarmac. It’s my first time landing a plane but thankfully there aren’t any real lives depending on my rookie skills.

That’s because I’m not up in the airspace over the capital — I’m actually sitting in a darkened room in the Dublin suburb of Dalkey. I’m in a flight simulator for a Boeing 747 and while I know it’s not a real landing at Dublin Airport, I still feel a sense of nervous anticipation and just a hint of blind panic.

I’m dreading any warning voices coming on to tell me to ‘Pull up, Pull up’, or the screen to go black because I’ve just crashed a jumbo jet.

Fortunately, I’ve got a co-pilot to help me with the controls on my first ever landing, Romek Delimata, who owns the simulator.

I feel like I’m coming in too low but he says I’m on course and to watch out for the four lights at the end of the runway. When I get two yellow lights and two red lights, I’m going to be in just the right position to land.

My instinct is to keep steering slightly to the left and right as I hope beyond hope that I don’t crash the plane. That’s the biggest error that people make in flight simulators — they overcompensate with their steering because the plane doesn’t react straight away.

But with Romek’s help, I manage to get the plane down safely as he reminds me to put on the brakes. That always helps.

In the song Learning to Fly, Tom Petty sings that, “Coming down is the hardest thing.”

Taking off is not that complicated — I have to put the engines to full power and then steer with my feet. Then I pull back on the controls and I’m up in the air. It’s all easy flying until it’s time to get this massive plane back on dry land.

I’m impressed that the first time I attempt a landing, it goes without a hitch. By my own admission I’m not the most co-ordinated person and it took me months to really get to grips with learning to drive a car. A plane is a whole other story and that’s clear the first time I step into the Jet-Experience simulator.

Outside, it’s a crisp and sunny winter’s day. Inside the simul-ator, it’s dark, with lots of lights on the dashboard and dozens and dozens of switches on the overhead panel. (I don’t get to grips with what they all do but I’m sure they all do something.)

I get into my pilot’s seat on the left-hand side and look around at all the indicators in front of me. Romek gets seated on the right-hand side and after a quick run through of the most important aviation tools, we get straight into the take-off.

The view out of the 747’s cockpit is incredibly realistic. I was expecting fairly basic graphics but instead, it’s so detailed that I can make out cars and trucks driving along the M50 near the airport, the mostly flat green landscape and plenty of landmarks.

After take-off, we head out over the Irish Sea. There are 24,000 airport approaches on the simulator but we turn back for Dublin Airport and I land the plane safely.

Second time around, Romek makes it a bit more challenging. He changes the settings so that I’m flying through stormy weather. “It’s the kind of weather where you would probably divert to another airport,” he says.

I can see why. The driving wind and rain have made it so much harder to control the direction of the plane. I bank way off to the right and miss the approach to Dublin Airport completely.

By magic, the weather clears up (OK, Romek switches it off) and I turn to the left. The radar shows that I’m almost back to the airport and in a flash, I see the runway straight ahead. With seconds to spare, I decide to go for it.

“Air traffic control wouldn’t like this,” I mutter, as I come closer to the runway and land the plane on the ground. Unfortunately, I keep my left foot on the rudder and the plane ends up drifting into the field next to the runway.

My time in the simulator is nearly up but there are a few minutes left for a quick flight over Dublin city where I see the Spire, the Four Courts and Liberty Hall.

For kicks, I try to fly between the Poolbeg towers. I nearly make it but at the last minute, I overcompensate with my steering and veer into the right tower. Bang and I’ve just crashed a Boeing 747.

I think I’ll need a second lesson.

* The Jet-Experience flight simulator was originally an Aer Lingus pilot training simulator. It’s now available to pilots for jet orientation training and also to members of the public. There’s a limited introductory offer of €60 for 30 minutes and €100 for one hour. Gift vouchers are available. (jet-experience.com/086 4119601).