This is how the simulator looked in 2002, after a total building time of 7 years. With visitors who saw it at my place it has invoked awe (because of its size), admiration (because of its complexity), envy (for my patience, mainly), and in some cases pitty ("... got nothing better to do with your time?").

But beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. For me, this has been a project that gave me a lot of fun and satisfaction, both building and using it. And after all those years, it still continues to do so.

The canopy is made of plywood and can be disassembled into 6 sections for easy transport. Two dampers help to make opening and closing smoother. The front section contains neon tubes, switchable for day and night lighting conditions (white or red). In the next upgrade, a slightly downsized B-737 overhead panel will be installed here.

Eventhough it might not show, but months of work went into the canopy. It is a three-dimensional structure, built from scratch, and it was much more difficult than I had expected to get all these curved surfaces right and to make them fit smoothly with the rest of the structure. Finding the right position for the attachment points of the dampers was a major headache. See the Building section for more info on this issue.

But the result is striking and was well worth the effort: With the canopy closed, the room around the cockpit disappears, and all concentration is focussed on instruments and the outside views. The feeling of immersion that results must be experienced to be fully appreciated.