Flight simulator: at the helm of an A380 The rain fell harder, the skies grew bumpier, but finally I could see the runway, and gingerly guided us towards it. This was my Hollywood moment - captain and co-pilot incapacitated by a dodgy paella, I was the one brave passenger, who, with no experience, was prepared to land the plane in horrendous conditions. Cue Leslie Nielsen of Airplane!: "I just want to tell you both: good luck, we're all counting on you." I fought to keep the wings of the 400-ton aircraft level, and pictured ashen-faced passengers mouthing silent prayers, hugging loved ones, or just trying to hold down their lunch. The runway closing in fast, I allowed myself a moment to picture the heroes" welcome I would undoubtedly receive... Sinkrate! The on-board computer came to the rescue again - I was descending too fast. I corrected our trajectory, the wheels came out, and we touched down on the slick Manchester tarmac. A textbook landing. Ok, so I hadn't saved lives, or even taken the controls of an actual aircraft. But I'd come closer to doing so than most people ever will - £10 million buys you a frighteningly realistic experience. That's how much British Airways spent on its newest simulator, which will be used in the coming months to train the pilots who will fly its fleet of enormous Airbus "superjumbo" A380s - the first of which will be delivered in July. It is BA's 16th simulator (one for every model it flies), and the majority can be experienced by members of the public, albeit for a hefty price (see panel below). The A380 is not currently available, but after the summer, when the pilots (and journalists) have had their turn, that should change. It will be worth the wait. Much of my childhood was spent watching The Krypton Factor, the Eighties game show which saw permed, jumpsuited Britons take on various challenges, including - my favourite - the simulated landing of a plane. I'm also something of a nervous flier. BA's Flying with Confidence course - which I have written about in these pages - seeks to help by increasing understanding about how aircrafts fly. Surely this would provide further reassurance? The simulator resides in a hanger on Heathrow's outskirts, alongside another - for the troubled Dreamliner. You've checked the batteries on that one? I joked. Inside is an exact replica of the aircraft's cockpit, with its countless screens and switches, and once the wraparound virtual window is switched on the unglamorous surroundings are forgotten. Heathrow lay ahead, with every detail - right down to the ambling baggage trucks - there to see. And I was at the helm. Beside me BA engineer Richard Frewer gave a quick briefing, and we taxied to the runway. Full power; pull up at 140 knots. Hurtling along at high speed, I felt a familiar anxiety, which didn't dissipate as we passed worryingly close to the capital's skyscrapers. "Flying 1,500ft above central London would normally cause some concern," said Richard. I guided us east before banking back towards Heathrow. Admittedly, my co-pilot handled such trivialities as landing gears and flaps, but the basics controls seemed remarkably simple. "I barely noticed the landing," said my colleague recently, after his first experience of the A380, on a flight to Singapore. He'd have noticed this one, I thought, as we smacked into the tarmac on my first attempt. "Firm but fair," was my instructor's diplomatic appraisal. We were then transported to Los Angeles - I cut the landing a little fine, stopping just metres from the end of the runway, prompting virtual fire trucks to come to my aid - before touching down in Hong Kong at night. Any airport around the world can be tackled, and flying conditions tweaked - or mechanical faults introduced - at the touch of a button. Growing with confidence, I demanded Richard unleash the elements on our return to Britain - hence my heroic descent into Manchester. My morbid streak then got the better of me. What happens during a simulated crash? Could we experience one? "The computer screams words like 'terrain" at you with increasing distress. You eventually hear an awful sound of crunching metal that will live with you for the rest of your life," said Richard. I then have to reload the software. I took that as a "no." On the stroll back to Hatton Cross, I heard a roar overhead. I cast my eyes upwards to see an A380, in the Emirates livery, coming into land. "Piece of cake," I thought. How to do it A one-hour flight on a BA simulator costs from £399. Longer slots available. See www.ebaft.com.