F1 simulator
The experience: As you read this, the world’s best F1 drivers are tearing around Yas Marina Circuit at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. For those of us who are never going to be in their ranks, the simulators at Ferrari World may be the closest you’ll get to that racing feeling.
When I arrive at the simulator experience for my session, and see the movement of the Scuderia Challenge pod and hear its “engine” roaring, I find myself getting a little nervous – what has this “safe and sensible” Aussie got herself into? I jump into the driver’s seat and get belted up and fitted by the attendant, my palms sweating. As the lights start flashing to go, I put my foot down and am “virtually” off the mark. During the three-and-a-half minute, three-lap experience you feel like you’re actually rounding the corners – the pod moves according to the angle of the turn – and braking, complete with a kick when you press your foot on the pedal. You’re only competing against yourself though, and it’s not until I jump next to the six-car challenge simulator, where I am pitted against five others in a “race”, that I get to bump and negotiate not only bends but other cars, too. After a minute or so I wonder why when I’ve been flooring it, there are no other cars around. As I wind the bends and check the leader board, I realise I am coming last, and it’s only through another driver’s error that I make that second last by the end of the three minutes. I’m not going to be a race car driver, but it sure was fun to feel like one for a few minutes.
The verdict: If you have a need for speed this is a very cool, realistic experience.
The details: The F1 simulator experience costs Dh100 in addition to the Ferrari World park entry fee and should be pre-booked to avoid disappointment. Visit www.ferrariworldabudhabi.com. In Dubai, visit Xxtreme Simulation at Oud Metha, which has eight race car simulators and can offer experiences ranging from go karts to V8 supercars. Prices start from Dh50 for 15 minutes. Visit www.xxtremesimulation.com
* Melinda Healy
Indoor sky-diving
The experience: It wouldn’t take much to convince me to go indoor sky-diving, and my recent experience at iFLY in Mirdif City Centre in Dubai didn’t disappoint. We went on a Sunday morning and walked straight in – before we knew it were watching the safety video.
After dressing in the provided jumpsuits, shoes and goggles, we were taken to one of two large clear tubes that house the wind tunnels.
Each “passenger” gets two goes in the wind tunnel – it’s the entering part that is the most nerve-racking. Told to stand in the doorway, cross our arms and simply fall forward, I was worried I would smack into the floor, but miraculously, the wind carried me long before. Suddenly, I was floating. Unable to speak in the deafening roar and using only hand signals, I was put through a series of controlled moves and spins, two feet off the ground, by my instructor.
The second time is when the fun really starts. With the instructor holding tightly onto me by the handles in our suits, suddenly we both shoot high into the air. A brief pause, and then down we drop, hovering magically before we touch the mesh. And then up we go again, higher this time, bouncing up and down, higher and higher until we are at the very top of the tunnel.
It’s an amazing sensation to magically float on air, yet at the same time it’s reassuring to know that I am safe inside a giant plastic tube, that helps me to simply relax and enjoy the ride.
Four bounces later, and it is over. I clamber out, flushed, but grinning like a lunatic.
The verdict: Great for adrenaline junkies, but after the two goes are up, you can’t help but want more.
The details: The iFLY costs Dh175 for UAE residents. For more information visit www.theplaymania.com/ifly. There are similar experiences like Spacewalk at Abu Dhabi Country Club (www.adcountryclub.com) and at Inflight Dubai (www.inflightdubai.com).
* Sarah Maisey
Porsche racing simulator
The experience: When Al Nabooda Automobiles opened its new Porsche showroom in Dubai earlier this year, one of the things the company decided it needed – along with a rooftop terrace, merchandise shop and a classic car display – was a race car simulator.
Not only can customers race around some of the most famous circuits in the world, such as Le Monde and Spa-Francorchamps, they can also zip around Dubai Autodrome and Yas Marina Circuit, which happen to be the two most popular options. The simulator was made for the showroom with a genuine race feel in mind. The driving position is realistic, and the view – from three screens – is interchangeable to give a credible feel.
I get in, adjust the seat and start revving the virtual engine. Although I’d prefer the automatic option, I’m urged to race using manual gears for a more “realistic” experience. It’s quite difficult at first, remembering to change gears and adjusting to the incredibly light and responsive steering, but after a while I’m starting to get a few compliments from the Porsche staff (I think they’re just being polite).
The staff tell me that I’ve sat in the same seat as a number of famous people, including American actor and race car driver Patrick Dempsey, English cricketers Paul Collingwood and Alistair Cook and Porsche race car driver Patrick Long. I’m certain each of them has performed much better than me and even secured a spot for themselves on the “best times” list.
With a bit more time and practise, maybe one day you’ll find my name there, too, that’s if I can stop spinning out on the corners.
The verdict: If you’re in the market for a Porsche, make sure you ask to try the simulator.
The details: The Porsche racing simulator is at Al Nabooda Automobiles' Porsche Showroom on Sheikh Zayed Road Dubai. There is no charge for the experience, but it is reserved for genuine customers. Visit www.porsche.com/middle-east/_dubai_/.
* Amanda Tomlinson
iPilot flight simulator
The experience: I feel like I must be the only person in the UAE who can say I’ve landed an Airbus A380 on top of St Maarten’s Princess Juliana International Airport twice this year. My first try on a flight simulator was over an hour at iPilot in Yas Mall in January. The Caribbean island has a famous runway setting, with planes that fly so low over the beach, hair is tousled and towels scatter, so of course when given the choice from 24,000 airports, I had to try it.
The biggest takeaway for me was how much responsibility I felt about the entire operation and how realistic the movement of the cabin felt, even though I’d passed a Hamleys on the way there. It was a lot to remember: tightly gripping the control stick, keeping the nose up, lining up with the horizon and keeping the right speed. And I wasn’t even doing all the work: a flight engineer friend stepped in for the trained pilot normally provided, running the throttles, landing gear and watching my navigation.
Although I had successful landings at Abu Dhabi International Airport and Pearson International Airport in Toronto (my go-to real-life route), by the time I got to St Maarten, all that water was really disorienting.
When I had to circle out and back after missing the runway the first time, I was never able to recover. Embarrassingly, the same thing happened when I took Dubai’s Airborne Aviation Flight School simulator for a spin at the Big Boys Toys Show in Abu Dhabi last weekend, this time with a small crowd of onlookers adding to the pressure.
The verdict: I left the experience smiling, because flight simulators are fun, but also knowing just the tiniest bit about what it feels like to handle a double-decker, four-engine aircraft weighing hundreds of thousands of kilograms – and feeling very glad I will never have to in real life.
The details: A 15-minute iPilot flight simulator experience costs from Dh349 in Dubai and is on special for Dh175 in Abu Dhabi. For more information, bookings and locations, email dubai@flyipilot.com or call 056 738 7444.
* Ann Marie McQueen
