Flight simulation fascinates RAF veteran engineer

A former Royal Air Force (RAF) engineer has continued his love of planes well into his 80s by spending "thousands of hours" on a flight simulation game.

John Heys, 88, left the RAF in 1977 and later discovered computer games after retiring from his final job at an office equipment company in Jersey in 2003.

He was given a computer with a flying game as a retirement present, and has kept up to date with the latest releases, having bought a control column, throttles and padels for simulation games.

The former engineer said: "With that computer was the disc, and lo and behold, it was aeroplanes flying, which interested me a great deal."

Heys continued: "Gradually that developed into being able to fly aircraft, as we've got now, [the games are] very advanced.

"They're all very realistic and exactly perform the way they should do."

Heys spent much of his younger life in Jersey and was there throughout the German Occupation in the World War Two.

He joined the RAF when he was 15 as part of a scheme that ran until 1965 to train boys in various roles, and he worked at bases including RAF Cosford and RAF Odiham.

He worked on the engines of aircraft such as the Meteor NF14 fighter jet and the Avro Vulcan bomber, a plane he now pilots on his computer.

"It's unbelievable - there's nothing like the Vulcan," he said as he pulled the steering column on his desk back to take off from his local airport in Jersey - where the in-game runway had been just long enough for the famous bomber.

Heys moved back to Jersey after retiring from the RAF in 1977, with his late wife Anne, who he was married to for 64 years.

Heys has spent thousand of hours playing the game, but in recent years he spent most of his time caring for his wife when she had dementia.

"One thing that I never thought would happen to me is loneliness," he said.

"It's when you've lived all those years with a companion and suddenly you're on your own.

"It's not easy, and that's why I got those two pussy cats of mine because they're good friends.

"They're great companions, I have a lot of fun with them, but you need human contact."

As well as attending community social events, Heys is visited by carers and his family, and spends lots of time at his desk piloting his favourite planes.

"It gives you an interest.

"My son does it as well, and I've got a couple of other friends... it's interesting, you know, it keeps your mind ticking over."

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