The venue is centrally located in Manchester’s Salford Quays, with all the transport links expected in a major city. Finding the venue was quite easy and there was plenty of parking right outside. You enter into a clean and tidy reception area with aircraft seats and a briefing room. What impressed us, was walking out from the seating area and into the simulator hall, which gave our reviewing airline pilot the chills as it is just like one of the old simulator halls at his airline! As you step out of the reception, you see the simulator in all its glory mounted on its full motion platform and there is certainly excitement in the air at this point. Spectators are catered for with refreshments in the lounge area, where there is a live video feed from inside the simulator shown on a large TV. They are also welcome to join in the experience by occupying one of two ‘jumpseats’ in the simulator itself – just like on the real aeroplane! This does limit participation, but simulator size constrains the number and it’s actually more accurate having just two as this is what is present on the real aircraft.
The business owners are developing a cabin section and have a number of airline seats dotted about waiting to be fitted. This will be a great addition, and promises realistic features for its occupants. Obviously, due to the limitations of the simulator being mounted on a motion platform, the cabin section will be located separately from the simulator, but sound and video link-ups are promised as well as virtual aircraft windows – an incredible feature that we’ve only seen once before. Again, due to the limitations of a motion platform, catering for reduced mobility is challenging, but not something the owners shied away from solving and they’d encourage any prospective customers to give them a call and see what can be done.
Simulator Adventures’ website can be considered basic, but functional. It has some great pictures and video of the venue and simulator, some frequently asked questions and the ability to purchase an experience – keep an eye for special offers! However, to book the flight, a phone call or email is necessary. They promise to respond within the hour in most instances if the call or email isn’t instantly dealt with. The business is active on social media and a frequent customer/loyalty scheme is under development.
