Will you lose your wool or will you fly like an experienced old lag when you get the chance to feel what it'd be like to learn to fly a Spitfire? Take a step back into aviation history & get yourself posted to IWM Duxford for a spot of Spitfire pilot training where you'll follow the same flight path as many young RAF pilots in the midst of World War Two. As war broke out the Allied Forces soon realised there was a huge shortage of pilots so in 1939 The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan was agreed & put into action. This ambitious (and very rapid) flight training programme saw young sign-ups being taught flying skills at schools around the Commonwealth in record time with the target of 50 000 new pilots a year. On these one & two day courses you'll get insight to what it must have been like during those first hours of tailwheel training! For most budding young pilots the ultimate goal having learnt to fly was to convert onto Spitfires
- the seminal tail-chasing battle fighter of the skies protecting Blighty & taking the flak from the Luftwaffe. But before then there was the small question of flying solo. Recruits were expected to be going solo in the good old yellow peril Tiger Moth in as a few as eight hours else you were 'scrubbed' & sent off to gunner or navigator courses. So when you enrol at the Spitfire school your pilot training starts in exactly the same way with a flight in the Moth or the Chipmunk the ideal starting point for learning tailwheel skills. Then your new-found aerial competence will be tested (just as they were for many Spitfire hopefuls) with a flight in the Harvard (or the North American T-6 Texan) which is an altogether more complicated machine where pilots had the chance to show the aptitude in the air that'd make them the ideal fighter pilot in a Spitfire.A few of those who passed their pilot training with flying colours would indeed be sent to front line fighter squadrons with a fleet of Spitfires waiting. We can only imagine what it must have felt like when a new RAF recruit met the formidable Spit for the first time. Sitting proud on the tarmac with that distinctive wing shape & aggressive nose she's both elegant & fearsome at the same time & awe-inspiring for all young recruits. That's exactly how you'll feel during this Spitfire school's finale
- the moment you go up in a two seater T9. As your pilot instructor releases the brakes it's stick back open that throttle & bring the stick forward to neutral as the tail lifts & before you know it you're airborne sitting there in a Spitfire cockpit with the best possible view ever of those elegant elliptical wings. Flying heaven we think you'd agree is the day that you learned to fly a Spitfire.

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A session on this Spitfire simulator will take you right back to wartime Britain. Climb into the cockpit of this simulator & get ready to fly your Supermarine Spitfire to the limits. It's time to see if you've got the gusto to be an RAF hero. Summer 1940. The Battle of Britain is raging. The German Luftwaffe is conducting nightly bombing raids on strategic English sites & cities. Fighter squadrons are on high alert. Young pilots are scrambled on courageous missions. Ground crews work tirelessly to keep the aeroplanes flying. This is World War Two & you're right in the middle of it all on this Spitfire simulator. Your mission is of your choosing. Will you be taking on Messerschmitt 109s heading over the English Channel escorting German bombers intent on dropping their bombs? Is a sortie over London during the Blitz on the cards? Everything is possible with this fantastically realistic simulator. In fact the cockpit of this simulator is an exact copy of a Spitfire right down to the RAF roundels on the side & the German Luftwaffe cross 'kill markings' on the port side of the cockpit. Inside you'll be surprised at how basic they are compared to modern commercial airliners & the latest RAF fighter jets. It's also quite a tight fit in there too but this is just how it would've been for those valiant WW2 pilots. The simulator itself is fixed base with high quality graphics & surround sound. You can select your RAF base from the full list of airfields. All of them are in the database of this sim & appear exactly as they would have in 1940 right down to the wartime military ground vehicles that would have been trundling around. There are endless other variables too. The most popular sortie is a bit of air-to-air combat with the Luftwaffe. You can select how many enemy aircraft you want to see on your tail & even the difficulty level of the aerial dogfight that's about to commence. Will you fly your Spitfire back to base as the hero of the hour or will you limp back with structural damage after taking a hit? The operator of this Spitfire simulator is an expert provider of simulated aircraft experiences. The team of current & ex-commercial airline pilots have done a great job creating this very realistic Spitfire cockpit using software that immerses you into wartime & that intense Battle of Britain atmosphere as soon as it's chocks away. ...

Keep the enemy firmly in your sights on this dogfight simulator spectacular! This combat fighter simulator session allows two of you to 'fly' in two different vintage fighter sims at the same time. It's going to get pretty intense out there as you head towards aerial combat in the virtual world. The genius idea behind these head to head simulator experiences was in linking the two simulator machines. That means you are both virtually flying in the same virtual skies & you actually meet for a spot of one on one Spitfire vs Messerschmitt dogfighting. It's going to be full-on out there so make sure you & your opponent are ready for a spirited session at the controls of these combat flight simulators. Both are incredibly realistic. The visuals are great & the controls all work just as they did for real on these two classic fighter planes. You can even count on the gauges to give you accurate readings as you climb & dive at courageous speeds in your chosen aeroplane. One of you wi... ...

Try the brilliant discipline of sporting trials taking a car uphill as far & as fast as you can! ...

A sportscar experience full of superlatives! There's quite a line up of motors waiting for you to take you pick on these sessions at a variety of tracks around the UK. Let's see which car you choose for your drive Great things come in small packages as they say & this is certainly true of the Lotus Elise. A smashing little car in all its versions the one lined up for these sporting experiences is the series 2 111R. This is the uber-rapid model that puts cars three times its price to shame. A combination of the Toyota ZZ engine & the Yamaha-designed twin cam head goes some way to explaining the superbike-like performance of this car but what sets it apart is the weight
- just 725kg compared to the average small hatchback that comes in at around a tonne. Then there's the Porsche Boxster. The stylish little convertible roadster from the famous German stable might not have the admiration that the iconic 911 attracts but it is a very fun sports car to drive
- especially if the day of our experience happens to be a warm & sunny one so you can keep the top down & get that sunglasses on pose perfected. Oh & for that extra thrill potential don't forget it is rear wheel drive. Last but not least the final member of this sports car fleet is the Subaru Impreza. This is a perennial favourite amongst rally & racing fans alike. Much-loved for that impressive flat four boxer engine the all wheel drive Scoobie is a dream machine equally at home on the smooth tarmac of a fast track or bumping & bouncing over a gravel special stage surface. Whichever of these three sporting stars you choose (and there may be others or substitutes on the actual day to make your choice even harder!) you are sure to have a fantastic time taking your motor for a spin. They are all quite different in their own way but each one has performance at its core so whether you go British land of the Rising Sun or German you will get a taste of motoring excellence on these sports car experiences.

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Secret agent spy skills day for 10-16 year olds in Milton Keynes. ...

First Class cream tea train departures on Staffordshire's much-loved heritage railway. ...

Learn creative stained glass art in Bristol on a one-day course ...

Enjoy a maximum of three hours of paddle boarding in Scotland! These half day sessions aimed at beginners will take you from a wobbly land lubber to a smooth-paddling SUPer in a matter of hours. & all this takes place in the stunning Scottish setting of the River Tay near Aberfeldy. Get set for great scenery & the chance to learn a new sport. Stand up paddleboarding is the perfect sport for Scotland as it can be done on oceans lochs & rivers. It's a sort of combination of canoeing & surfing. Standing on a long flat board is just like surfing but then you propel yourself by paddling which is clearly more like canoeing. Despite this slight identity crisis SUP is getting really popular
- so much so that it's being considered for inclusion in the Olympics. For first-time SUPers in Scotland the River Tay is nice & gentle. Calmer waters combined with a large floaty board makes for a more stable start to your Scottish SUPing adventures. Indeed the right equipment is key to getting the hang of paddle boarding. The team at this adventure centre in Scotland will pick a board to suit your size (too small & it'll be unstable) & a paddle too. You might think that you need to be strong to SUP. It's actually more about technique. Having said that the instructors in Scotland will tell you paddle boarding is an all over body workout especially core strength. As you take to the Tay for the first time on your board with paddle in hand the trickiest part is getting up. You'll start by kneeling & then progress to standing. As we said SUP is all about technique so think slightly bent legs & gazing out to the horizon. The number one rule is to not look down at your feet
- it's sure to unsteady you! These & other golden nuggets of information will be shared with you by the coaches. Before you know it you'll be up on your feet on the board looking around at the beautiful Scottish scenery as your paddle smoothly around. Of course learning to paddle board in Scotland you might take a couple of early falls but keep the faith get yourself back up on the board & dip that paddle back in that River Tay water. Good tuition good quality equipment in a very lovely setting
- what more could you as a newbie SUPer ask for?


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Learn paddle boarding on the River Avon at Keynsham with all the gear & excellent training included. ...