Fly the skies with Emirates Airline’s A380 Experience

Chart the skies and try your hand at piloting a plane this summer at The Dubai Mall through the Emirates Airline's A380 Experience.

Sameera Fernando, left, instructs Rebecca McLaughlin-Duane on take-off. Pawan Singh / The National

If you’re unable to escape to cooler climes this summer, Emirates Airline has a novel way for you to jet abroad, without going anywhere.

Head to The Dubai Mall and on the ground floor at The Village, you’ll come across their A380 Experience. It’s a flight simulator that allows you to take the controls of an Airbus A380. How difficult could it be to take off and land a super jumbo, I wondered? Incredibly difficult, I was to discover.

My experience began with a friendly meet-and-greet from my captain and co-pilot. He showed me to a row of plane seats and a selection of destinations popped up on the TV in my armrest.

I was able to choose from 12 airports and settled on Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris as the final destination. Choosing the weather conditions were next and, for added excitement, stormy skies were programmed in.

Soon it was time to head inside the simulator, which was an open-backed cockpit of an Emirates plane. I had been expecting to step inside an elevated simulator, encapsulated inside a machine that would soar and nose-dive at the touch of the sidestick.

Nevertheless, the fact that it wasn’t the case didn’t detract from the experience and there was something surprisingly thrilling about sitting in the throne-like leather chair of a first officer.

Before pushback, I was given a full briefing about the overwhelming number of buttons and instruments that enveloped me. Soon, we were ready for the take-off – cabin crew, arm doors and cross-check.

After the briefest of taxis along a rainy runway, it was full throttle ahead and we were airborne.

The weather obscured the view of Paris more than a little and meant that maintaining altitude and staying on course was a challenge. My instructor informed me this was intentionally the case because commercial pilots regularly used the simulator for practice.

Before there was time to make my inaugural announcement from the flight deck, we were readying to land. As time was tight, the 30 minutes really does fly by, the captain changed the weather conditions to clear and the arrival airport to Dubai.

It enhanced the experience a great deal and the panoramic 3-D view was exactly as you would expect to see it through a pilot’s eyes.

As I banked the plane, The World and Palm Jumeirah came into full view and upon the final descent to Dubai International Airport, we had a bird’s-eye view of all the city’s landmarks. All too soon, it was time to disembark and hang up my uniform.

All in all, the experience was a great one, albeit over far too quickly. The instructors are a mine of information – most of them qualified pilots – yet there’s little time to grill them on the finer points of turbulence or landing on water.

For those with a fear of flying, the simulator is said to help, not least because it demystifies the process a great deal. For those who desire a PPL, private pilot’s license, it’s also an excellent first step.

Fundamentally, it’s an exhilarating experience, where no matter how bad your technique, the captain will reassure you that you’ve spilt no one’s coffee and you’ve passed with flying colours.

• The Emirates Airline A380 Experience costs from Dh350 for 30 minutes. To book call 04 388 2915/2750 or go to www.emiratesa380experience.com.