"Nutty Engineer" builds £30,000 Spitfire Simulator in his garden shed
Users can battle against up to 19 enemy fighters in simulated battles
Published: 10th March 2023 | Source: Suffolk News |
Engineer builds replica Spitfire to create a garden-shed Spitfire Simulator
Kenneth Mockford, a 59 year old Engineer from Burwell, Cambridgeshire has spent the past two and half years constructing a replica Spitfire fighter to build a realistic virtual flight simulator.
Kenneth's Spitfire replica needed to be created from the blueprints up, with the whole simulator costing a reported £30,000 to manufacture. The simulator accurately features all of the Spitfire's internal instruments, its throttle, landing gear, and seat. Essentially, the simulator features an accurately recreated cockpit and front section of a Spitfire fighter, and uses three screens to operate as a flight simulator. The full simulator fits inside a 3x5m shed.
Mockford is a former airman from the South African air force and comes from a line of RAF veterans. This line includes Mockford's great-uncle, Frederick Stanley Mockford, who is famed for inventing the term "Mayday", what is now an internationally recognised distress call.
Previously, Kenneth Mockford has created simulators for the F35 fighter jet, a Boeing 737 plane, and a Lynx Helicopter, and operates a business called Sim2do, which sells simulator experiences in Mildenhall for as little as £60 per hour of flight time.
With his Spitfire simulator, Mockford has created his first aircraft sim that "shoots" from its aircraft's guns, allowing flyers to take part in simulated battles against up to 19 opponents. Users can feel vibrations from the Spitfire's weapons when they fire, giving users a unique simulation experience.
Kenneth Mockford calls himself a "Nutty Engineer", and was diagnosed with Autism at the age of 40. When discussing the topic, Mockford says that "I look at it as a superpower", and that "I describe autism as the ability to see more detail than the average person sees." In a comment to Wales Online, he added "People with Autism and Aspergers often get ridiculed by the general population because they are not the same as everyone else. But the general person looks at the world through normal eyes and we look at the world in 3D."
We at OC3D would like to congratulate Kenneth Mockford on the creation of his Spitfire flight simulator and wish him well with his future aeronautical adventures.
You can join the discussion on Kenneth Mockford's replica Spitfire simulator on the OC3D Forums.
Most Recent Comments
|
Originally Posted by Warchild
hah. The moment I saw Mockford and the word spitfire. "inventor of mayday" sprang into my head even before I read the rest of the post.
|
Quote|
Originally Posted by WYP
^ This man knows his stuff.
|
QuoteI stumbled across this yesterday i think we can agree this is the real deal when it comes to british cars
I don't drive but if i had the funds instant buy easy, it's up for sale last night i saw 36k idk where the price will end up as it's kinda a crazy car with the right tyres easy 300mph :OQuote
CSS Valid