A look inside the garage thats actually an aircraft simulator By Simon Kelsey, Simfest team member F rom the outside, Gary Olivers garage in Hampshire looks unassuming. But step through the door and its a different story. Inside, the first thing that suggests something a little out of the ordinary is an aircraft galley from an RAAF Boeing 707, complete with carts, which serves as a store cupboard and desk for a printer. A low hum air conditioning and computer fans mixed with jet engine noise is apparent. Squeeze past the coat rack and a large toolbox and the source of the hum is revealed. Over the past six years, Gary and his Simfest team a group of friends with a diverse range of backgrounds including current and retired airline pilots, air traffic controllers, aircraft engineers, IT specialists and a nuclear engineer to name a few have been constructing perhaps the most complete Boeing 747-400 home simulator anywhere in the world. Real aircraft parts Featuring a locking cockpit door (acquired from a recently-retired British Airways jet), a flight deck toilet (happily about the only part of the simulator that is not functional) and 210-degree wraparound 4K projection screens displaying a near photographic-quality representation of the world, the simulator is almost entirely constructed from real aircraft parts, which Gary and the team have spent thousands of hours sourcing, restoring, rewiring and programming. Each switch, panel and piece of trim has its own history in the air and represents a truly global range of B747 operators from the steering tillers and registration plates (reclaimed from ill-fated BA jet G-BNLL), the overhead panel (from an ANA aircraft, JA8965), pilot seats (Uniteds N171UA), multifunction control panel (Lufthansa B747-400 D-ABVA), throttle quadrant and more. The simulators systems and flight model are built upon Aerowinx PSX (www.aerowinx.com), a professional B747 flight and engineering software training package used by airlines, universities and flight-training establishments across the world. Every aspect of the aircraft is modelled, right down to the circuit breakers (the real circuit breaker panels are wired up and fully operational a task that took the best part of two months) and an instructor panel with the ability to simulate a range of system faults and failures, something the teams resident training captain, Peter Ward a retired BA B747 TRE likes to use to great effect, usually at the most inopportune moments. Every aspect of the aircraft is modelled, right down to the switches Simfest uses the simulator to take part in World Flight, an annual event that sees teams across the globe currently, in addition to the UK, there are teams based in Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Turkey and the USA join together to raise money for charity through a virtual round-the-world flight. The teams, each with their own fixed base simulator, spend a week every November flying around the clock, with crews taking shifts to finish the 4050 legs of the circumnavigation, complete with real weather, actual air traffic controllers and hundreds of other participants using desktop PC simulators to fly along. This year marks the 20th anniversary of World Flight and the 14th consecutive year the Simfest team has taken part as a crew although many of the individuals were involved in other teams from the start. The flights are broadcast live and free to view on Twitch (www.twitch.tv/simfestuk). Since 2006, the team has raised more than 168,000 for a number of charities. The broadcasts are a mixture of light-hearted entertainment, aviation fun and, over the years, have attracted a wide following of aviation enthusiasts, gamers and industry professionals. The team pays for the upkeep and running costs of the simulator, and the cost of running the events and broadcast stream out of their own pockets, so every penny donated goes straight to the charity. In 2020, Simfest is, for the second consecutive year, supporting the Lullaby Trust, a charity that raises awareness of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), provides advice on safer sleep for babies, and offers emotional support for bereaved families. Last year, more than 43,000 was raised thanks to the teams supporters and followers and although 2020 has been a year of great uncertainty for many across the globe, the team is hoping to raise more vital funds for a fantastic cause. And the B747-400 flies on at least in the virtual skies. Each switch, panel and piece of trim represents a truly global range of B747 operators For more information about the Simfest team, the simulator and World Flight, visit www.simfest.co.uk. To donate to the Lullaby Trust, visit https://justgiving.com/simfest2020