‘Flight simulator in my garage has really taken off’

A KEEN flier says the sky’s the limit after he installed a Boeing 737 flight simulator in his garage.

Mark Lowen has now turned his hobby into a business, charging learner pilots and thrillseekers for “air time”.

He said: “I was really excited to get it. Of course, the cars had to come out and it took a lot of measuring to work out whether it would go.

“My wife Wendy really was not sure about it when I first told her what I wanted to do.

“She still wasn’t convinced when the business started, but now she sees the success of it, she thinks it’s a great idea.”

Mark, 53, who has 20 years’ flying experience, says he was lucky to get his hands on the professional simulator, which can replicate flying anywhere in the world.

He became friends with the owner of a flight simulator company by chance, just as the firm was looking to test new equipment.

Before long, he had so many of his friends begging for a go at the controls he started his own company – Fly a Flight.

Mark, of Leighton Buzzard, Beds, said: “I love all planes. I fly light aircraft myself.

“I always wanted to be a commercial pilot but I couldn’t as they thought I had a heart problem.

“It was pure luck that I happened to meet someone who runs a flight simulator company.

“He was looking to test a prototype. He had actually been doing a similar thing to me, allowing people to use it as an experience, but he got too busy and so passed it on to me to keep on testing.

“After the testing had finished, he allowed me to keep it. I was incredibly lucky. The software for these things is incredibly expensive, more than the hardware.”

The simulator is the same as those used by airlines to train pilots for Boeing 737 planes. The cockpit is realistic and different scenarios can be programmed into the simulator to allow users to take-off, fly and land in all weather, all over the world.

Using his knowledge and his own experience, he now gives people the chance to jet off on holiday from the comfort of his garage.

He said: “The vast majority of people who come to us are novices who just want to give it a go.

“It’s wonderful to see people’s reactions when they first feel like they are in control of a big plane. I still fly myself as a hobby and I know what a rush it is.”

People’s experiences in Mark’s simulator have even encouraged some to take up flying.

He said: “The simulator often inspires people to try and get their pilot’s licence and I always tell them to go for it.”