A dad has built a Boeing 737 flight simulator in his garage - and it even has a premium departure lounge.
Alberto Paduanelli, 43, has turned his lifelong passion for flying into reality by transforming his home into a 737-800 cockpit. He offers ''aviation enthusiasts, passionate hobbyists, and aspiring pilots'' the chance to use the simulator to fly to airports around the world. The simulator uses real and live maps and weather updates to offer an authentic flying experience.
The father-of-two took inspiration and knowledge from his background in electronic engineering and a long-term passion for aircraft. Because of his job Alberto has also had to travel a lot so says he has been in a real 737 hundreds of times - but only as a passenger. Alberto, a medical devices auditor based in Sherfield-On-Loddon, Hampshire, has now turned his garage into a simulator with immersive technology and real controls.
It even has a lounge above the garage offering coffee, biscuits, and entertainment options like TV, foosball and Xbox gaming. Alberto began the project during lockdown and it took him three-and-a-half years to complete - with over 20 years of planning in his head. He said: "I have tried to offer not just the thrill of being the captain of a 737-800NG, but have a full experience beyond simple 'sit down, give thrust and take off'. Since I was little my dream was to build a real, fully functional cockpit.''
Alberto turned his lifelong passion for flying into reality (Tony Kershaw/SWNS)Alberto said it was always his ambition to build a flight simulator at home with real controllers. He said "I remember I was three-years-old, my uncle came to visit us, and as he was a pilot for the Italian military, he also had a passion for aviation. He brought me and my brother, as a present, a little floppy disk which had this game flight simulator game.
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"At the time this little game for me was everything - it had this little Cessna cockpit where you had to press all these buttons and somehow something would move. That was my first time seeing something like that, and for some reason it was fascinating. So as I was growing up, so did the technology.
"More and more simulators, from different companies, came out to the general market, and the process was the same - you install the game on a pc, connect a joystick, and fly. Although through the years the simulation and controls were getting more and more realistic, you never felt like a real pilot because all you had was a joystick and a keyboard. Eventually, I started imagining and planning that one day, if I had the money and the space, I would have built a real cockpit, a 100% fully functional, scale 1:1 cockpit.”
Alberto moved with his family three years ago and he knew that it was time to act on his lifelong dream - which also turned into a family bonding project. He said: "I also wanted to do something with my kids, at the time 7 and 10, and I thought it would be great to build something together as a father-sons experience.
"They are also into aviation and this was the perfect time and perfect project for everyone. I do travel extensively, and so I could only spend my weekends working on the project. Sometimes, if I was lucky, I would have an entire week, but it was very rare. To give an example on how long the project took, let’s suppose I was working on it for eight hours a day, five days a week, uninterrupted.
The cockpit of Alberto Paduanelli's Boeing flight simulator (Tony Kershaw/SWNS)"That would have taken me a full year! The construction required a high level of electronics knowledge, mechanics, construction, networking, calibration, software - I felt that my time at the University really paid off! The biggest challenge was the calibration of the three projectors on the screen, but for the majority of the construction, I had lows, rarely highs.
“It was horrendous, to the point that I almost quit one day thinking that I was chasing an impossible dream, or perhaps I was trying to do something bigger than me. Good things when you hit the low, is that you become stronger and you fight even more, and that’s what I did.”
He added: ''I have spent £130,000 on this project, but please don’t mistake that I’m a rich man. I was just spending on something I was so passionate about. I joke that I have bought my Christmas presents for the next 100 years!" His simulator has been checked out by British Airways and Ryanair captains.
Alberto said: “The BA captain said it exceeded his expectations. He even told me that my simulator has more modules than a real plane." Alberto says the support from his wife Laine and two children has been amazing throughout - though Laine is “not into airplanes”. Alberto says his future plans involve research into whether his simulator could be used for aspiring cadets and pilots to prepare for interviews. You can also check his YouTube channel.
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