Pilot hopes city flight-sim business can get off the ground with relaunch

John Hoyte, who lives in Bracondale, first set up his flight-sim business in 2015 – called Sim-Fly Norfolk – giving people the experience of flying Second World War planes without ever leaving the ground.

However, in 2019 he made the decision to close the business after deciding to focus on his long-term battle work on aerotoxic syndrome – over whether the air inside his cabin poisoned him – had seen legal action started.

The new business will launch on October 17 at the St Giles House Hotel (Image: John Hoyte)

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Now Mr Hoyte, who retired from flying in 2005, is bringing back his unique experience to city folk under the new name SimpliFly – operating out of St Giles House Hotel from October 17.

Mr Hoyte, 67, said: “I’m confident this will offer an incredibly realistic experience for people in and around the city.

John Hoyte, a former pilot is re-launching his flight-sim business after it closed in 2019 (Image: Archant)

“The simulator includes all the things you need for flying in real life, such as the flight stick, rudder pedals and vibrating seat.

“There’s also a 98-inch TV screen to see everything on, so it’s a proper bit of kit worth roughly £12,000.

“I’m coming back and going to do it better than before.

John Hoyte on a tester version of the flight-sim equipment (Image: John Hoyte)

“People can fly from anywhere in the world, whether they want to fly over their house or fly from Norwich to any other airfield, it’s their choice.

“There’s also a number of different aircraft such as Spitfires, Lancasters and Hurricanes they can fly in as well.”

To entice people along, sessions from October 17 to 23 will be free. Afterwards prices will start from £89 per 90 minutes.

John said people can fly to anywhere in the world with his simulator (Image: Nicola Barrels)

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Mr Hoyte added: “I’m confident it’s going to work this time.

“Setting up has been challenging but I’m excited to get up and away.

“The experience is good fun and can be very addictive once you get that first flight under your belt.”

Customers will get a chance to pilot a number of World War Two planes (Image: Sarah Lucy Brown)

John Hoyte shut down his previous flight-sim business, pictured, after wanting to focus on his battle with airlines over possible toxic fumes in planes (Image: John Hoyte)