A Spitfire cockpit simulator, designed and developed by engineers from the University of Nottingham, has been officially unveiled at a local gallery.
A uniquely collaborative project led by Associate Professor Mark Jabbal, from the Faculty of Engineering, saw more than 100 students and around 10 apprentice technicians contribute to the development of the Spitfire simulator.
Undergraduate aerospace engineering students voluntarily assisted on the project over a four-year period between 2019 and 2023 as an extracurricular activity, working in teams of four or five at a time before the finished simulator went to the Spitfire Gallery at the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in Stoke-on-Trent – birthplace of R.J. Mitchell CBE, aircraft designer who led the team that designed the Spitfire aircraft.
Operation Spitfire, a voluntary group wanting to make the gallery more interactive for visitors and become the ideal place for STEM learning for children, launched the idea of a Spitfire simulator and through Mark - originally from Stoke-on-Trent and a member of the group - students from the University of Nottingham were encouraged to get involved.
Despite delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic, students from across the engineering faculty were able to get involved with the construction of the simulator. This included a number of individual and group projects supervised by Mark, as well as apprentice technicians responsible for developing specific components in the simulator. Finally, Mark Discombe MBE – one of the most experienced Spitfire pilots in the UK – tested the simulator for accuracy before it left the University. Mark Discombe was impressed by the realism of the simulator.
The simulator was officially opened in the Spitfire Gallery on 15 September, Battle of Britain Day, by Stoke-on-Trent Lord Mayor, Councillor Lyn Sharpe and Stoke-born former Fleet Air Arm's elite test pilot, Commander Nathan Gray.
"The aim of the simulator is when the public try it, they'll immediately get a sense of what it's like to be in a Spitfire aircraft, because we've created the cockpit, the layout, the instruments, and the feel of it to be as close to a Spitfire aircraft as possible.
"The gallery has a static Spitfire aircraft on display, but no one can actually sit in it. So it's that opportunity of being in the cockpit and getting a sense of what it's like to fly As well as inspiring future generations, it's given our students the opportunity to engage in an exciting project and to apply the practical skills gained from their course."
Operation Spitfire anticipate that the simulator will be a centrepiece of a local schools STEM initiative to inspire more young people from one of the most deprived areas of the UK into careers in aviation aerospace engineering.
