This report is about the most thrilling flight of my life. Yet, I never left the ground. Thanks to Captain Denny Flanagan and Captain Steve Wright, my flight was actually in a United 787 Simulator in Houston, the first place prize in the Captain Jason Dahl Scholarship Fundraiser.

We arrived at the United Airlines Training Center near IAH where the simulator is located around 9:30 p.m. and was met by Capt. Steve, who led us (husband and myself and two visitors from Austria) through the training facilities on the way to the Simulator. Saw a wonderful replica of the old Continental SST (which never flew commercially) on the way to the Simulator.

Not much to report except that we were in Houston, flew out of EWR, and visited all those other airports. I did a take off, and actually did get off the ground successfully, but it wasn’t smooth. Flew around a while using the “dashboard” screen and was way off course. Finally, I got to put the HUD down (heads up display image here... http://www.boeing.com/commercial/aer...2q1-3_fig5.jpg) and it was easier to steer, but I generally overcompensated when I went too far in one direction, then too far back in the other, then too high, then too low. Tried a landing and, again, was zigzagging down the runway when Capt. Steve told me to apply the brakes. We nearly ran out of runway before I got the plane stopped. In fact, my mind was worried about the passengers, even though I knew it was a simulation.

My husband then got into the copilot’s seat and did a fun takeoff, immediately banking left after the wheels were off the ground. That would have scared some of you. He did a much better job than I did keeping the little circle on the HUD I the middle. His landing? Not bad and he stopped the plane in good time. Somewhere in the time my husband and I were flying, the screens went red, meaning a crash. I’m not saying who did it. What happens in the simulator, stays in the simulator.
Captain Steve showed us a lot of other maneuvers and I was amazed what the 787 can do…an amazing machine. Captain Steve was one of the original captains of a 787 and still flies. Say hello next time you’re on one of his flights. He’s excellent.

In ending, I have a new respect for pilots and all the training they have to do to keep us all safe. Thanks, again, Captains Steve and Denny.

Here the photos, can't figure out how to actually embed them in this report, even though I read the "How and Where to embed your pictures" thread. Sorry.
https://flic.kr/p/pPPhn1
https://flic.kr/p/pxkTqN
https://flic.kr/p/pPJXFp
https://flic.kr/p/pxfpbR
https://flic.kr/p/pxiP2Z/