Neelam Mathews manages to take a ride in the world's first flying double decker - a plane about which there has been much attention - Well... she sort of does.
The mega jumbo jet A380 that promises to change aviation history may have been delayed and agitated a few reliable customers, but for a commoner like myself, these things don't really matter - given that I'm not going to be flying in one that easily!
Oh no? But I just did. I flew an A380 – in a Thales simulator soon to be shipped to Singapore Airlines - under sunny and also dreary weather conditions when lightning struck. I feel dizzy and am told many pilots take time to acclimatise themselves to a similar feeling.
It is now time to land. As I approach Changi, Singapore's skyline is visible and the sun is rising. I am almost on the runway of Singapore's Changi International airport and then commit harakiri with a nose landing. In aviation jargon, it means simply, I crashed the plane.
But the instructor is not giving up so easily on me. Gently, I am told, very gently, pull the rudder and hey presto, the aircraft moves like a dream. Given that the A380 has such a humungous body, strange how tenderly it needs to be treated.
Sitting in a really wide cockpit with my seatbelt on - the size of an original A380 - this time, we do a night landing at Changi – no bumps along the way - and I could almost be certified an A380 pilot. Not to forget some switches I pull which need to be reset. I am chided kindly: "Madam, this is not a video game." Oh no? Then why do the guys here seem to enjoy playing at the controls so much?
Here, at the sprawling state-of-the-art production premises Thales UK facility in Crawley, West Sussex, there is a lot happening. This is the place where the company has been producing simulators for civil and military markets since 1949. Simulator types have included Comet, the world's first passenger jet, and Concorde. Incidentally, Thales UK also has the only contract in the world for Boeing's new 787 aircraft.
The simulator was not designed overnight. The Thales team has been intensely involved with Airbus developing the training programmes for A380 pilots since 2003.
Training pilots are well aware that the quality of training not only depends on the specific communication of the operation of an aircraft. "The mental preparation of pilots for the many conceivable scenarios in flight operations is also particularly important," says a Thales instructor.
To this end, initial training is conducted in the simulator several months before the A 380 makes its first scheduled flight. The use of the training programme depends on the "operational approval" of the international civil aviation supervisory authorities.
This A380 simulator will be the first to be delivered to its first customer Singapore Airlines expected to start training in November.
I am told the A380 is the first fully networked aircraft and is a kind of flying information center where the A380 will feature the revolutionary Thales ultra-efficient motion system that uses approximately a third less power than the most efficient current motion systems.
The motion system also has higher environmental benefits, utilising low quantities of biodegradable vegetable-based oil rather than the traditional mineral oil.
So as I cruise above 35,000ft, the "real" feeling of sitting in an aircraft is incredible. All the movements are there as are the visuals the pilot would actually see sitting in the cockpit.
The weather is good, so have a drink and relax. I didn't mean that for the pilots ofcourse.
Based in New Delhi, Neelam has been associated with travel and tourism writing for over 16 years. She has written film scripts, research reports, radio and televison programs on travel in addition to working with majortravel and tourism trade publications and financial dailies and consumer magazines in India, Singapore, UK and the U.S. Travel to her, is a holistic experience- one that incorporates people, lifestyle and a spiritual experience.The banal is out and unusual her passion.
www.thetransitcafe.com 
