Glasgow Warriors and Scotland squad members Kelly Brown and Graeme Morrison (on the right of the picture) prepared for Scotland’s opening match of this season’s RBS 6 Nations tournament against Wales at Murrayfield (Sunday, 8 February, kick off 3pm) alongside Edinburgh counterparts, Craig Hamilton and Geoff Cross, by taking over the controls of a flight simulator at RAF Leuchars today.

With only 3, 000 tickets left for the Wales match, supporters are urged to fly down to the Scottish Rugby ticket centre or call 0871 200 1511 to reserve their place.

The players met up with 43 Squadron and showed off the Calcutta Cup, but the only wings discussed were on the sides of aircraft.

Cross, 26-year-old front row forward, admits he thoroughly enjoyed the experience and can’t wait to return back to the base to show off some more trophies in the future.

Cross said: “I loved every minute of the entire experience. Sitting behind the controls in the flight simulator was unbelievably good fun.

“It was also really interesting chatting to the pilots about their roles and finding out how everything works.

“I did the worst loop-the-loop in the flight simulator, but Kelly (Brown) managed to fly his jet underneath the Forth Bridge and Graeme (Morrison) ended up landing his jet in the water.

“I would love to go back to RAF Leuchars with some other trophies in the future - then maybe they will take me up in a real jet!”

Centre Morrison also enjoyed the experience and said: “It was a great day out and very interesting. Afterwards we were complimented by the guys who actually train the pilots; they thought we were good pilots.” 

After testing their aeronautical skills in a Tornado F3 simulator – designed to train real pilots – the Scotland squad members had a tour around the base.

At the end of the visit, the players were presented with a framed picture of a jet complete with a good luck message for the team ahead of the RBS 6 Nations.

Tickets for Scotland v Wales in the RBS 6 Nations Championship at Murrayfield this Sunday (8 February) can be bought online at www.scottishrugby.org; through the 24-hour hotline 0871 200 1511; or in person from the Scottish Rugby Ticket Centre at Murrayfield Stadium.  Its opening hours this week are from 9am-8pm, Monday to Friday and from 9am to 4pm on Saturday.  The final cut-off for ticket sales (via all other routes) is 5pm on Saturday.  No tickets will be on sale on match day.

Tickets cost either £45 or £60 for adults (the £30 tickets have now sold out) and either £22.50 or £30 for under-18s (the £15 concession has now sold out).  Please note a booking fee applies to all card transactions.