A team of 20 World Flight Australia pilots this morning departed on a circumnavigation in a Boeing 747-400 simulator to raise funds for the Royal Flying Doctor Service.
Raising funds for the RFDS’ South Eastern Section, the team departed Sydney at 0900 this morning on a virtual circumnavigation that will collectively take them to 45 cities around the globe including Moscow, Vienna, Dublin, Washington, Vladivostok and Hong Kong, before returning to Sydney in a week’s time.
For their mission, the team is using a full-motion B747-400 flight simulator created, built and owned by Sydney pilot Matt Sheil. The sim is almost an exact replica of a Boeing 747-400 cockpit, contains authentic hardware from retired aircraft and is powered by nine computers and 42 software programs.
To make the experience as realistic as possible for the World Flight crew, a virtual Air Traffic Control Centre will be manned 24-hours a day by a team of volunteer air traffic controllers.
World Flight Australia organiser Terry Scanlan, who himself is one of the pilots on the flight, says the annual event will cover 40,000 virtual nautical miles, during the seven-day, 130-hour non-stop trip.
“World Flight is now entering its 10th year, and during this time we have raised more than $140,000 for the Flying Doctor,” Scanlan said. “In 2010 we raised $19,000 for the RFDS, and we hope to exceed this amount this year.
“Donations are gratefully received from all of our participating pilots and our many sponsors. And, as in previous years, anyone can take part in the flight by booking a seat as a virtual passenger.”
Live feeds from the flight deck can be viewed 24 hours a day from the World Flight Australia website and seats as a virtual passenger can be booked in economy, business or first class for $20-$50 per person.
Donations can be made via the aboe-linked website. All funds raised will be donated by World Flight Australia to the RFDS South Eastern Section and donations over $2 are tax deductible.