Still time to bid for virtual thrill of flying an RAF plane

Readers have until tomorrow to send in sealed bids for two money-can’t-buy visits to RAF Linton-on-Ouse and RAF Leeming and a pair of Leeds Festival tickets.

A thrilling Tucano simulator flight for two is included in the RAF Linton-on-Ouse trip.

Used by RAF pilots in their training and set up just like a Tucano cockpit, the experience is as close as a civilian can hope to get to flying the actual aircraft.

The highest bidder and a guest will be taken on an exhilarating virtual flight on a course of their choice before attempting a landing.

Flight Lieutenant David Williams said: “It is like flying a real aircraft.”

The experience also includes the chance to visit the museum at the base, near York.

The guided tour of RAF Leeming includes a visit to four sections of the North Yorkshire base, home to No 100 Squadron and its fleet of Hawk aircraft, among other units.

The day includes a visit to the station museum, as well as lunch in the officers’ mess.

Engagement officer Tim Reid said past visitors had always been very impressed with the tours.

“Even people who have absolutely no aviation knowledge find the visits very interesting and informative,” he said.

“Those that are aviation enthusiasts get a lot of enjoyment out of it because they get to see things they wouldn’t normally see.”

Visits to both bases are to be taken during 2013.

A pair of weekend tickets to next summer’s Leeds Festival at Bramham Park, near Wetherby, is the final item up for grabs.

With an impressive line-up every year, the event often sells out quickly. The 2013 bill already boasts US rapper Eminem as a main stage headliner and Mercury Prize winners Alt-J in the NME/Radio One tent.

To be in with a chance of getting your hands on one of these lots, email your highest bid to: [email protected] (with young carers appeal in the subject field); or post to: YP Editor, Young Carers Appeal, No. 1 Leeds, 26 Whitehall Road, Leeds, LS12 1BE.

Bids must be sent to us by 5pm tomorrow and must clearly state which item it is for.