Interview with Craig Penrice, RAF Pilot and Consultant to Nations - WWII Fighter Command™

This interview was supplied as a courtesy by Psygnosis.

1. You fly cutting-edge fighters and planes over fifty years old - which do you prefer?

Them all! No two aircraft are the same, they all have strengths and weaknesses. Flying the old fighters gives a great insight into the way that air combat has developed alongside technology. The sounds and smells of these older aircraft are quite unique. Being "allowed" to play with a part of aviation heritage is a distinct privilege. I often wonder if the general public are really aware of the time, effort, dedication and money that is involved in keeping these aircraft in airworthy condition, fit to display at airshows.

The teams I have been involved with are startling examples of true dedication and commitment. Modern fighters, Eurofighter in particular, have capabilities previously only dreamt of, even by contemporary fighter pilots. Aerial combat has changed in terms of its complexity, but the basic feature is two individuals pitting their skill and the capabilities of their aircraft against each other. It is in the end the man who makes the most of the machine, not the best machine, who wins.

2. Having flown these WWII aircraft, what do you think about the pilots who flew them in combat?

When you consider the technology that accompanies the fighter pilot into battle today and consider what the WWII pilot had, I find the difference quite staggering. The basic traits of the fighter pilot remain the same; "he who sees wins", and you must know the strengths of your aircraft and the weaknesses of your opponents. WWII pilots were incredibly brave men who lived on their own abilities with limited training and an unshakable belief in what they were fighting for.

3. Are WWII planes easier or more difficult to fly than modern jets? They are definitely more difficult to fly than modern jets. Big piston aircraft in general are a handful anyway due to the effects of propeller torque and slipstream. Going back into a piston aircraft after a jet is always a re-education of what your feet are for; rudder pedals in a jet are foot rests after you are airborne, in a piston you are always using them to maintain balanced flight.

4. Have you been on a flight simulator or played a flight sim game before trying Nations - WWII Fighter Command?

I have hundreds of hours flying in simulators of various standards, none of which could be considered to be viable home entertainment! Most of them are bigger than your average house. My previous PC flight sim experiences were fairly limited, this was mainly because I was frustrated that they were so far removed from what I know to be reality, there simply was not enough substance to them. Too many shortcuts taken and features omitted to make them anything like the real thing. I know the reasons for this were to make them "playable" for all levels of experience, but I found this less than satisfying. What is more, when my sons could do better at them than I could, that was simply not on!

5. You may have flown many of the actual aircraft featured in Nations - WWII Fighter Command, what's your experience with the game?

My main experience in relation to Nations-Fighter Command is in the P-51 Mustang. I spent some time with the designers in trying to incorporate some of the features of the aircraft into the computer model of it. I think that the game has managed to achieve something that I have not experienced before in a computer game, that is a good balance between realistic aircraft handling characteristics and a game that is playable and enjoyable.

It is very different sitting in your armchair in a nice warm and quiet room, connected to your PC game through a joystick, compared to being strapped tightly into a noisy, cold, windy aircraft where the 'G' forces associated with the maneuvers you are doing are draining the blood from your brain and making it difficult for you to see and move your head. Taking an all-encompassing 360 degree real life combat scenario and replicating it onto a two dimensional computer screen is very difficult indeed.

6. Were you involved in the development of the game? How did your experience in the real life aircraft help the developers achieve greater realism?

I think my main input into the design process was to be able to help them make the model aircraft behave sufficiently like a real aircraft in the more advanced levels. If you have not flown in a combat aircraft you could be forgiven for thinking that you can simply thrash the joystick around willy-nilly without regard to altitude or airspeed. Reality is not like that.

The term "Carefree Handling", has long been a designer's and pilot's dream, it is only with aircraft such as Eurofighter that this term is becoming reality. If you pull too hard when you are going fast you will break the aircraft, if you pull too hard when you are going too slow there is a high likelihood it will depart from controlled flight and end up in a spin.

PC models lack the tactile cues of the real aircraft that allow a pilot to modulate his control inputs appropriately. Most PC game players also lack the years of flying experience required to operate the "real thing" effectively. There is a balance to be struck, I think Nations - WWII Fighter Command has managed to achieve that balance.

7. Is there anything that particularly impressed you about the game, was there something that made you sit up and say "Wow"?

The graphics are very impressive indeed. The research that has gone into making each of the cockpits authentic has really paid off in my opinion. You really get the impression that you are in different cockpit with each aircraft, each has its own unique feel to it. That, on top of the realistic combat and the historical accuracy make it a great game.

8. Is there a particular plane, old or new, that you would give your eye-teeth to take for a spin?

I think I would really like to fly something like the MIG-29 or more importantly the Su-27 or any of the later derivatives of this breed of aircraft. These were the threats that my contemporaries and I faced for years before the Berlin Wall came down. I would really like to see, first-hand, just what these aircraft are capable of.

9. You served in the RAF for a number of years, how long have you been flying?

I served in the RAF for 18 years and 61 days to be precise. I know this because they tell you this on your exit paperwork, not because I was counting the days! I had a great time. My first flight as a student pilot was on January 4th 1977, in a Bulldog T Mk 1 of the University of Glasgow and Strathclyde Air Squadron. So to answer the question, I have been flying for over 22 years.

10. Did you want to fly from a very young age, was it something that was in your blood?

I was always interested in aviation from as far back as I can remember. I made a huge number of Airfix models as a child. My parents' house lay under the approach path to Glasgow airport and I must admit to having been a "spotter" for several years. Through school I wanted to become an airline pilot for BOAC as well. Luckily for me the oil crisis of the mid-seventies meant that there was no recruitment into the airline world, indeed newly trained pilots were being offered jobs as cabin stewards following their training. The only option available was therefore the RAF, who thankfully accepted me and I never looked back.

11. And now you're a test pilot for British Aerospace - what planes do you get to fly there?

My prime area of responsibility is towards the development flight testing of Eurofighter. In addition to this I am also involved in production flight testing of the Hawk and Tornado aircraft. The job also involves a great deal of work in the simulator, checking that new configurations are safe in theory before taking them into the air. Another major aspect of my work is in working closely with the system design engineers to help them maintain an operational perspective during the design process, this is often vital in ensuring a product that will meet the requirements of the customer.

12. What is it that excites you about flying the most?

Ask any pilot that question and I'm sure you will get an answer along the lines of "flying is all consuming". It is very hard to put your finger on one aspect of it that excites the most. I often say that it is not difficult to fly an aircraft, but it is difficult to fly an aircraft well.

To a military pilot, flying the aircraft well is a very small part of the job. Operating the aircraft, sometimes to the limit of its and your capabilities, day or night in sometimes horrible weather and achieving the aim of the mission is a very satisfying experience. The aim of the mission may be to defend a piece of airspace or to get your bombs on target on time, regardless of weather, threat aircraft or many other factors. Equally, the thrill of airshow flying, putting the aircraft through its paces for a crowd, safely but still entertaining is another great experience, almost artistic in a way but yet the skill of precise and accurate control is the challenge to master.

13. So, you fly brand-spanking new planes before anyone else but you also fly vintage aircraft in your spare time - how did that come about?

Like many good things it happened because I happened to be in the right place at the right time. An old friend was involved with trying to organise a 4-ship formation of Hunters to take part in the Biggin Hill airshow when I met him again after some years. Being current in the Hunter through my job at Boscombe Down, he asked if I was interested in helping him out.

Of course I jumped at the chance and it was just a matter of getting the appropriate approvals and validations to satisfy the CAA in time to practice before the first show. I am also involved a couple of times a year in running a school to teach formation flying to civilian private pilots. This is mostly done in aircraft such as the Yak-52, Harvard, Chipmunk and Zlin.

Formation flying is a basic skill of any military pilot, but it is not a skill that is gained without considerable practice and cannot be picked up as you go along. There is a great deal of discipline involved both in terms of procedures and in flying skills to keep your aircraft in the correct position. I enjoy trying to convey those skills and disciplines to pilots who have not been brought up in a military training environment.

14. What sort of aircraft do you get to play with?

My airshow flying has been limited to the Hunter aircraft, albeit a variety of quite significantly different marks of the original design, both single seat and two seat versions with both large and small engines. The aircraft are all civil registered, which means that you operate them under a whole different set of rules than the military aircraft I am more used to operating. I have been offered spots flying in a couple of other types, namely the Sea Fury, MIG-15 and Yak-52.

At the moment I feel that I cannot repay the owners financial outlay in training me on the aircraft, since I have a number of other commitments which limit my availability to recoup the costs through airshow income for the plane's owner. I would like to get involved with more types, but there is a limit to the time available to balance work, family and fun.

15. Where do you fly them?

I have been all round the UK and as far afield as France, Belgium and Austria to display. These are old aeroplanes and they do not get to fly nearly as much as they once did in military service, so you don't undertake a major transit flight lightly. I certainly would not consider flying to Austria, for example, in anything other than ideal weather, indeed you are quite limited by regulations in this respect.

16. Which of these planes has been the most exhilarating experience?

I think the most exhilarating experience was flying a display at a small lakeside village high up in the Austrian Alps in a valley that was only just wide enough to turn round in. It was a crystal clear day and there was still a lot of snow covering the higher mountain peaks. It was staggeringly beautiful and it was like flying in my own little mountain amphitheatre.

17. Have you had any hairy incidents?

I think you could say I have. I had to eject from a Lightning when the flight control system malfunctioned and the aircraft decided that it wanted to roll left without me asking it to do so. Luckily I was quite high when it started to do this, but very quickly the rolling developed into a rapidly spiralling dive, which I could do nothing about. I had no option but to eject. Unfortunately because of the speed at the time I ejected (around 570 mph), I suffered badly from windblast and whiplash injuries. I ended up with 13 nuts and bolts in my elbow and 10 in my knee, 3 months in a wheelchair and a year off flying while I recovered.

18. Do you have any aviation heroes? If so, who are they?

I think my aviation heroes would be people like Doddy Hay and Bernard Lynch who were the "dummies" for a great number of ejection seat tests made by Martin Baker in the early days of ejection seat development. If it were not for them, a good number of my friends and I would not be here today. I cannot thank them enough.