Newark college unveils new £35,000 flight simulator

Newark College has a new flight simulator for students to use

Aspiring pilots are finding out what a career in the skies will be like as they test a college's new flight simulator.

Newark College, in Nottinghamshire, had the machine installed last month.

Students can get a feel for heights by flying and landing planes at a virtual East Midlands Airport.

With the institution also set to open a multi-million pound centre next year, bosses hope it will "raise aspirations for youngsters".

Leyla Anne Binns, 19, from Scunthorpe, is one of the students on the pilot pathway programme

The simulator is set to be moved to the college's proposed new facility, which will be built on the former Newark Cattle Market site and is due to open in 2023.

The training programme - which has a pathway for both pilots and engineers - has been set up in conjunction with the air and space industry and the RAF.

Students said they were surprised at how realistic the cockpit was

The aim is to fill job roles for pilots, engineers and ground-crew staff in airlines, the military and airports.

Tom Marsden, director of strategic growth at the Lincoln College Group, said the course would give students "a real opportunity to enter into a sector which has significant boundaries".

The college hopes the simulator will help students break into the highly-competitive industry

Student Leyla Anne Binns described the simulator as "really cool".

"It's so realistic," she said.

"When you're going along the runway, it really does feel like you're actually in the cockpit," added Sam Mason, 17, from Leicester.