DC-9 airliner simulator | Real Simulator

Simulator flight will surpass your expectations

The original cockpit of an aircraft that was manufactured in 1969 and has logged over 90,000 flight hours will surpass all your expectations. All systems, switches and gauges have retained all the original functions that you can feel directly on your own skin. The roar of engines will keep you breathless and the simulator largest projection in Europe will take you straight into the sky. You don´t have to be an aircraft enthusiast to remember this experience and talk about it with your friends for a long long time.

What makes us unique?

We have dominated original devices like nobody in the world. Thanks to the world´s unique object, we can boast the most realistic DC-9 airliner simulator in the world. We have built the largest projection in Europe for the perfect feeling. The closest place to find 270-degree viewing angle and 5 HD projectors is in New Zealand.

For an authentic perception, our flight simulator was built from a real plane flying in the USA from 1969 to 2010. All simulators (except for several times more expensive professional simulators) are made of plastic. By flying such a simulator, you can never get the feeling of flying a real airliner. Our simulator is made from real flight hardware!

Our real airliner flight simulator has the largest viewing area in Europe. The 6mm-diameter cylinder with five powerful projectors offers a viewing angle of 270 degrees. Even the professional simulator at Ruzyně does not have it, and you get a feeling of perfect 3D perception while not seeing the end of the screen.

The fully functional audio systems of our simulated flying allow you to listen to VOR, ILS, and air traffic control. You can talk to the cabin manager or ask a flight attendant for a cup of great coffee.

More experienced pilots in particular will appreciate that our simulator is connected to the Virtual Air Traffic Simulation Network (VATSIM) and International Virtual Aviation Organisation (IVAO) which further enhance the experience of seeing other pilots and listening to air traffic instructions and permissions.

The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 has never been equipped with screens so expect perfect, original devices. They, in connection with the high-quality Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX) and 3D projection driven by Lockheed Martin Prepar3D software, are the core of our simulator.

Because of the uniqueness of our airliner, our team recommends at least 1 hour flight. However, even it is not enough for a great experience and absorbing all feelings. Ideal is to visit us with a group of friends where everyone will pay for one hour flight. The others can sit in the cabin all the time, asking or advising.

What can we offer?

• VFR (Visual Flights Rules) flight. Fly at 300 m to 2 km above the ground over your city in good weather. Can you spot your house?
• Flights to and from any airport in the world.
• Simulation of airliner technical difficulties including engine fire or fire in the cabin (using oxygen masks and glasses)
• IFR flights training (Instrument Flight Rules – flight controlled by air traffic control; you can also fly at zero visibility in this case)
• Visit to the Real Simulator VIP Lounge with refreshments
• Preparation of banquet tables

History of DC-9 cockpit

McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American twin-engine airliner designed for short routes. It is the first model of the family of airliners built on the design of McDonnell Douglas, a company which was later acquired by Boeing. The designation of the DC-9 comes from the original name of the Douglas Commercial manufacturer that named its model series in this way. The first flight of the DC-9 airliner prototype took place on 25 February 1965. The first company to launch the airliner was the American Delta Air Lines. The DC-9 airliners were produced in several versions and are still flying today, but under another manufacturer. The Boeing 717 is a DC-9 development version of the DC-9-93 series.

Our cockpit comes from the DC-9-31 which carried the N1332U matriculation prior to its decommissioning. The airliner was manufactured in 1969, production number 47404. It was delivered to Hawaiian Airlines and sold to Northwest Airlines in 1986 where it got the 9935 fleet number. The airliner was decommissioned on 23 June 2010, with the total of 88,708 flight hours and 94,044 flights; it flew to a Florida scrapyard and was scrapped. At that time, its cut cockpit was bought by its previous owner from Canada who kept it at home as an inoperative replica and from whom we bought the cockpit in July 2013.

All three instrument panels come from the second DC-9 airliner that was also produced in 1969 and flew for North Central Airlines from the beginning, which were later taken over by Northwest. It is also a type -31 machine with matriculation N962N, serial number 47406, fleet number in Northwest 9912. The airliner was decommissioned on 2 September 2005.

The serial numbers of both airliners are interesting. They are differentiated by only two digits and it means that both were manufactured in the same year. It is most likely they are two sisters that last saw each other in a Douglas hangar about 45 years ago, flew millions of kilometres to eventually merge into one unit which you have the opportunity to try out.

We are very pleased that the palms and fingers of our team members and now even your palms can be added to the tens of thousands of hands that touched both airliners. We believe that we will be able to provide both sisters with long and fun old age.

About the Real Simulator Project

The project was described by its main initiator and Real Simulator (originally known as Czech DC-9) operator, Petr Bílý:

If someone told me that I was going to attempt the world´s unique object in aviation industry seven years ago, I would hardly believe it. How does such a challenge appear in the life of an ordinary man? The story is quite long. I saw a huge map filled with lines, numbers, and symbols on a friend’s room wall in 2005. Because I knew about his interest in simulated flying, I understood it would be an air map. But what was on it was a mystery.

I bought Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 (FS 2004) and started to learn to fly.

I bought Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 (FS 2004) in a week and started to learn to fly. The lessons in FS 2004 seemed understandable and I went through them all from beginning to end. I decided to register for VATSIM in 2006. VATSIM (Virtual Air Traffic Simulation Network) is a worldwide virtual world dedicated to flying. I listened for a while, trying to install various types of software and finally, my heart beating, to stutter in the microphone. I waited impatiently for someone to answer. The sentences I was saying were read from a printed manual for beginners.

I made my first flight. I got a warning several times and I didn’t know what the control was actually asking. But I got better over time and met a bunch of great people in VATSIM who taught me how to control air traffic. I decided to obtain a PPL (Private Pilot License, which authorizes the pilot to fly for non-commercial purposes) in 2007 and try it in a real plane. I made my first flight into the clouds in 2008 and believe me that my heart pounded just like it did in VATSIM. As my second son was born and I didn’t have enough time for flying, I started flying more and more at home on the simulator.

When I made my first flight into the clouds, my heart pounded just like it did in VATSIM

I built a nice piece in the boiler room at home, but it was still just a mix of dials I bought and composed by space, not by a real plane. Then I thought of buying a Boeing 737 simulator because I liked flying this plane the most. I talked with my VATSIM friends (specifically with Pavel Brodský and Radomír Jedlička) and we went to see one such simulator in Berlin.

It was really nice. Sophisticated, functional, just what I wanted. However, I realized that it was a really expensive matter and I would have to save money for some time after receiving theoffer. After a year and a half, Pavel Brodský and I began to work on the idea of ​​our own similar simulator.

Something like some have in a block of flats in Klášterec or in Prague. However, our goal was not commercial use but VATSIM promotion, our own pleasure and entertainment. We searched many sites and realized that the construction would be quite demanding. So we figured out it might be better to buy an old cockpit and gradually add purchased simulator equipment to it. We searched hundreds of sites, looking for Boeing 737. But the thing, easy at first, turned out to be unrealistic. Pavel called me one day. He was excited to find something and I had to see it immediately. One Canadian enthusiast, Perry, was selling an old cut cockpit DC-9, fully equipped with avionics which was probably functional.

Anyone can fly B-737

Pavel convinced me that it was the right choice. I was sceptical at first, preferring a glass cockpit (airplane cockpit with digital flight devices) than outdated gauges with pointers, but something was telling me to think about it. ‘Anyone’ can now fly the B-737, even me (on the simulator, of course), yet I didn’t know what half of the gauges and switches were actually used for looking at the DC-9. It was a challenge. When Pavel told me he had not found anyone who would do a similar project, I said yes. We’re going to do it to the fullest. I wrote to Perry on 27 April 2013 at 2:38 pm: ‘I am very interested in purchasing cockpit of DC-9. Is it still available? Can you please send me some more detailed photos?’

It was the very day when an ordinary man began to hope for a world´s unique object.

It was the day when I was once again convinced that even a small group of smart people full of optimism and enthusiasm in the small Czech Republic could do something great. Contracts, loading, transport, etc.; it wasn’t easy, but I first touched the DC-9 on 9 August 2013. When I first sat down in the cockpit, my heart pounded just the same as the first time in VATSIM or the first time alone in Z142. Our small team started its work on 10 August 2013. We declared the Czech DC-9 Project finished at the beginning of 2017. Today, under the name of Real Simulator, you have the chance to fly it and experience something you won’t find anywhere in the world.

So what are you waiting for?