“This Is Your Captain Speaking”: Let Your Kids Realise Their Pilot Dreams and Fly You Across the World

Let’s be honest, I’m sure you had to resort to the aeroplane theatrics with a spoonful of food to feed your picky little ones or fold a paper plane to get them off your back for a couple of minutes. Little did you know, these little parenting tricks might actually be appealing to a dream in their hearts — a dream to fly.

Be it watching aeroplanes take off at the airport or marvelling at the aerobatic manoeuvres of fighter jets in air shows, your child might have proclaimed, “I want to be a pilot when I grow up!”

Although it might seem as though there’s a long runway to go before your little pilot jets off to flight school, you can already start their engines and steer them towards the skies. Take the first step in realising your child’s dream by getting them in the pilot’s seat of a true-to-life flight simulator to experience what it’s truly like to helm a plane.

Hyper-realistic cockpit with full controls

Before you think that flight simulators are like arcade machines — simulated experiences simplified to thrill — hold that thought. The flight simulators at Flight Experience are about as real as it can get! The high-fidelity cockpit is decked with a wall of accurate and fully functioning controls, instrumentation and systems,  designed to replicate those of the Boeing 737-800NG, the world’s most popular jet airliner.

Complete with realistic sounds from the surround stereo sound system and vibrations from seat shakers, the resemblance is so uncanny that the ProJet PS3.5 simulators here are labelled as a Boeing ‘Officially Licensed Product’. In fact, the simulators are used worldwide for actual pilot training!

If it wasn’t for the 180° HD curved screens in place of actual windscreens, the immersive experience of sitting in this cockpit would be identical to the real thing. And for your budding little pilots, we’re just getting started.

Although the simulator is made to exact scale of a real cockpit, your kids can still fly the plane with ease. Booster seats are provided so that your little ones can view the screens and reach the controls comfortably.

Real commercial pilots guide the way as your kid’s First Officer

Your mini pilot facing a myriad of buttons might catch some nerves on his or her first day as captain. But there’s nothing to be nervous about with a real commercial pilot as your child’s First Officer!

Yes that’s right, all of Flight Experience’s instructors are pilots who have real commercial experience under their belts! Despite being such experts that flying a plane is like second nature to them, you don’t have to worry that your kid won’t catch on as instructors are trained to interact with children and adapt sessions to your child’s age. Even budding pilots as young as four years old can take the first step towards their dreams.

Before your mini captain is entrusted to “fly a plane”, there will be a briefing session conducted in the form of an engaging multimedia presentation and video, so even the most restless children will give their full attention.

Ready for Takeoff

After making the rounds through the cockpit and controls, it’s finally time for takeoff! Not to worry even if your little one can’t remember everything from the briefing, the instructor will provide guidance every step along the way.

To start things off, your kid can select from over 24,000 airports and cities for the flight and get an authentic look at what goes on in and “outside” the cockpit. After putting on real aircraft headsets, your mini captain will have to ask Air Traffic Control for permission to takeoff.

Once takeoff is granted, with help from their trusty co-pilot, your kid will engage the thrust levers and the aircraft will begin whizzing down the runway. The co-pilot will even use aviation terms such as “rotate”, in which your little captain will then pull the control to lift the aircraft off the runway. And we’re airborne!

You can also be right in on the action and witness your little captain take flight in the two jump-seats directly behind your captain. Similar to being driven by a newbie driver, you might work up a little nervous sweat as your young child take the controls of a realistic flight simulator!

Once the “plane” is airborne, you can finally breathe a sigh of relief and enjoy the stunningly realistic scenery as your mini captain continues piloting the plane. This is definitely an unforgettable experience for both you and your kid.

A high-flying start to becoming a pilot

If you’re wondering how early your kid can start on their path to becoming a pilot, you’d be delighted to know that you can enroll them in our flight school before they even go for actual school! With Flight Experience’s Flying Start program, your budding little pilots as early as five years old (and up to their teens) can get hands-on in the flight simulator! Have I mentioned that this CASA-approved flight simulator is used to train real pilots? Your kids will definitely get the upper hand in pilot training in the future!

Other than having a go at the flight simulator, your kids will learn the basics of aviation from professional pilots in an educational lecture setting of 20-30 students. Since lessons will be taught in an engaging way, you can be sure that your kids will be able to digest and learn the content effectively.

Touching on topics with real-world applications such as how aeroplanes are built, aircraft procedures and how to fly in different weather conditions, you will wish you could enrol in the program as well. While waiting for their turn to try the flight simulator, interactive activities like colouring are available to keep your child entertained. Offering the opportunity to learn beyond the classroom, this is a school excursion not to be missed!

You can also enrol your child in the Flying Club and have them trained in all aspects of flying the simulator, following a process that’s similar to how pilots attain their licences in the real world! There are two levels of licences that grant the ability to fly the simulator without an instructor’s assistance: Licence One, which allows members to taxi, take off, fly circuits, and land at suitable airports anywhere in the world; and Licence Two, which allows members to fly a city-to-city sector flight, simulating a typical airline flight.

With professional pilots passing down their knowledge to your little budding pilot, your child will be more motivated than ever to pursue their dreams. Flight Experience is not just about learning how to fly a flight simulator, it’s where dreams take flight.