Original pilot seats, control levers, tens of meters and many other buttons and switches. Paul van Zomeren built himself the cockpit of a real Boeing 737-800. And with a series of computer screens acting as windshields, the Resident can actually fly with the replica. But no matter how well the fake cockpit and simulator turned out, Paul is now putting the facility up for sale.
video-caption">Paul van Zomeren of Huizen puts his self-built cockpit of a Boeing 737 up for sale – NH Nieuws
When Paul leads us to the cockpit, the behemoth appears to have been placed in his garage. And since the simulator takes up about half the space, we immediately come to why he wants to get rid of it. “It’s not about the money,” said the builder. “But I need the space.”
“I really wanted to be a pilot”
What prompts someone to recreate such an immensely complicated cockpit is a question not that easy to answer. “I like challenges,” smiles Paul. “And this is a challenge”. But no doubt the fact that his father flew with KLM will also have played a role. “I’ve always had a weakness for flying,” explains the resident of the house. “Actually, I also wanted to be a pilot.” This did not happen, although Paul later learned to master gliding.
Search thousands of parts
What it came from is assembling this replica. Paul made it in about four years, with the help of a number of friends. “One of them took care of the technology. And that’s a good thing, because I couldn’t have come up with it myself,” says Van Zomeren.
He has collected the thousands of parts, buttons, levers and counters that make up the cockpit. “There are shops where you can buy all kinds of buttons. And there is a lot to find on Marktplaats,” says van Zomeren. “These levers that can open the side windows are very difficult to obtain. I finally 3D printed them in Denmark.”
low price
Anyone who wants to become the new owner of the cabin will have to take out the baby carrier. “It costs 12.5 thousand euros,” explains Paul. “But there is a negotiation.” Incidentally, according to Huisaar, this is a very reasonable price since he himself has invested more than four times as much to build the simulator.
