A Deepak Chainani pilots planes, making them take off, land and even survive crash scenarios - all without leaving the comfort of his home in Dubai.
Tomorrow's exclusives tonight:
Industry Insights e-newsletter Stay ahead of the pack and get the pick of the premium Business content straight to your inbox. Sign up
The country manager for the UAE and Qatar at the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (Acca) Middle East talks about why he likes to unwind by playing on an electronic flight-simulator.
q&a
q How do you relax when you are not developing Acca's membership or business?
a I have a strong interest in music, so I'm trying to teach myself to play the keyboard. The one that I actually do quite a bit is a flight simulator. It's a very unwinding, de-stressing experience - maybe a short flight, from Dubai to Muscat, which takes 1.5 hours.
q How did you develop this interest?
a As a child, I spent a lot of time in Africa, where I grew up in Nigeria. At the time when we made these trips to Dubai or India I'd go up to the flight deck on the aircraft. The regulations were not as strict. I was always interested in seeing the instrumentation and what these folks did up there.
q When did you first take flight on a simulator?
a It was in 1998, when one of my friends had a full-blown simulator at his place, and that's when I tried it out. I decided to invest in one myself.
q You own one?
a Yes. Of course, it's 13 years old now, so this thing has been upgraded [with] software along the way and is keeping up with the most modern aircraft. It was more expensive back then, because the price of electronics has come down. It must have been in the region of Dh8,000 (US$2,177) to Dh9,000.
q So what can you do on it today?
a It is like you're looking at the actual cockpit. The graphics are so detailed ... I've simulated emergency situations. I might be on a Boeing 777 and I program one of the engines to flame out. Then you have to liaise with air traffic control and make an emergency landing. I would feel it, because I have a four-speed joystick, so if you're flying through turbulence, taxiing or landing, that little jolt would be reflected in the force-feedback joystick. You feel it.
q Have you ever crashed?
a That happened quite a bit in my early days, because I was a novice. But as I've spent time and learned the dynamics and aircraft system, it doesn't happen.
q Does the contrast with what you do off-hours make your day job seem a bit boring?
a No, not at all. I enjoy what I do because it's all about education. Especially as a not-for-profit, there's a feel-good factor in what we're doing here at the association.
q Do you fly real planes?
a No, it's just on the simulators. But I do plan on joining a flying club. I'm look forward to it.
* Neil Parmar