Up, up and away in the back shed
Tucked away in suburban Perth, a garden shed is rocking from the muffled roar of jet engines and the chatter of pilots and air traffic controllers.
It looks ordinary from the outside but Gwyn Perrett's back shed is home to a $35,000 homebuilt fully functioning Boeing 737-800NG flight simulator, which he and his mates - dubbed the nerds of a feather - regularly fly across the globe.
Four years in construction, it is truly a labour of love - and an extraordinary tale of innovation.
"A number of Qantas and Virgin pilots have come to have a look and they're astounded at what we have achieved," Mr Perrett said.
"The level of detail in operating the simulator extends to fuel and load sheet planning, programming the route into the simulator's flight management computers and ensuring the correct Boeing checklists are followed from start-up to shutdown."
Mr Perrett is one of about a dozen enthusiasts who have similar aircraft simulator set-ups in Perth suburbs.
The home flight simulator had its genesis in Microsoft's program Flight Simulator, which in its simplest form is a fun desktop flying experience on a PC.
But Mr Perrett's 737NG fully functioning simulator is right at the "extreme end", with software sourced from the world's biggest defence contractor, US giant Lockheed Martin.
Even the US Navy uses this program to train pilots and Mr Perrett's 737NG simulator is more realistic than some commercial simulators.
"Every system works in this cockpit," Mr Perrett said.
To achieve this Mr Perrett has invested in "four very high-end networked computers" that work in unison.
"There is some fantastic commercially available avionics software to make it all happen and these software packages are constantly evolving with feedback from enthusiasts like ourselves," he said.
Mr Perrett has built or bought all the components for the cockpit and now makes parts for fellow enthusiasts around the world with his hobby business Aerosim Solutions.
But though it is fully functioning, the simulator is not quite finished. "It still needs the 180 degree visual display system installed and a few cosmetic additions but it is well on the way to becoming a fully certified training device," Mr Perrett said.
He said his hobby of building cockpit simulators had expanded exponentially over the past 10 years, and this had spawned many website groups for enthusiasts and a growing number of parts supply businesses.
His colleague Greg Hateley has just finished building a Boeing 747-400 simulator, which has taken five years to construct.
The group's air traffic controller expert Kirk Christie explained that all flights were under ATC control manned by enthusiasts who were members of an organisation called VATSIM. The simulator isn't just a much-loved hobby - the group raises money for charity with special week-long round the world flights.
"Last year, along with other participating Australian flight simulator owners, we helped to raise $20,000 for the Royal Flying Doctor Service," Mr Perrett said.
The next fundraiser, WorldFlight, takes place in November.
It is a 45-leg globe circling adventure involving dozens of aircraft simulators from around the globe.
More information at worldflightperth. com.au/
