RIDES on the Lyme Regis created Jurassic Airlines have won the seal of approval from special visitors.

The simulator played host to a real airline pilot and a leading figure in a national charity from its base on the Weymouth Pavilion forecourt.

They have been among the visitors to the attraction during its time in the resort for the Olympics and Paralympics.

Ryanair Captain Mark Leonard and his family boarded the Boeing 737 simulator for its trip back in time to the age of the dinosaurs.

He joked afterwards: “This is the best Boeing 737 I have ever flown on.”

Passengers on Jurassic Airlines check in at a terminal, after security and passport checks before entering the simulator mocked up as a passenger cabin complete with air crew.

The ride takes them back on a 15-minute ride back 250 million years when dinosaurs roamed the Jurassic Coast.

The Royal National Institute of the Blind’s head of policy and campaigns Steve Winyard also went on the ride recently.

He said: “This experience is of huge enjoyment to those with sight impairments.

“The motion is really authentic and the narrative from the cabin crew and the flight deck is really funny and interesting.

“And we get to touch some prehistoric treasures during the flight as well.”

Lyme Regis-based Richard Hartnell, Jurassic Airlines’ inventor and chief executive officer, has done a lot of work in the past with the RNIB, designing multi-sensory experiences.

As well as entertaining the partially sighted, special flights have been devoted to those with cerebral palsy who find it a stimulating experience.

It has deliberately been built with no steps, just ramps, to make it easily accessible for those with pushchairs or in wheelchairs. Former England cricket captain Mike Gatting was also among the visitors at the attraction over the Olympics.

The first flights lifted off in Lyme Regis in May before it touched down in Weymouth for the Olympics.

It will be operating in Weymouth until September 9.

Tickets cost £5 and are available from the Pavilion and online at jurassicairlines.co.uk