Open Day ’24

It’s safe to say, BFSG’s first Open Day was a great success!

Before we opened our doors at 11am, BFSG’s members were extremely busy, ensuring their flight simulation computers were correctly connected to their throttle quadrants, joysticks, yokes, rudder pedals and of course, the internet!

BFSG had been joined by fellow flight simulation enthusiasts from South West Flight Simulator Group, based in a small village in Devon called Ipplepen, south of the town of Newton Abbot.

SWFSG had driven the 1:40hr north on the M5, cars laiden with computers, monitors and other flight simulation equipment and reached Bristol in good time.

In total the room had around 12 different flight simulation demonstrations on display, covering Microsoft Flight Simulator, X-Plane, Prepar3D and DCS.

The biggest crowd pleaser was the landing challenge! Created by BFSG’s Leader, Andy, members of the public were invited to land a Cessna 152 on a recreation of Bristol Filton’s runway 27, as it would have been before the airfield closed. Those attempting the challenge had just a couple of minutes to stabilise the approach and attempt to pull off the most accurate, precise and gentle landing possible using their hand and eye skills. Many found the balance of pitch and power quite challenging, whilst others, after getting a feel for the aircraft, could control the aircraft to great effect. The software generated a score for each attempt, and a scoreboard was constantly updated throughout the day as every more impressive scores were landed! By 3pm we had two clear winners, the best adult and best child, each walking away with their much coveted prizes!

I could do this all day long!

A quote from one of our members, commenting on how enjoyable the day had been.

For those that have Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 you can download the BFSG Landing Challenge. Installation instructions, along with details on how to add the supplementary Filton scenery are included in a readme file. You can try the challenge by going to “Custom Content” on the right hand end of the “Activities” menu.

Presentations were available on the day for those interested in getting started with flight simulation:

The following photos provide a snapshot of the day.