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See image 30385 for information about the De Haviland Vampire and this aircraft. This one is a two seater trainer.
Yes, this cockpit is old; probably around 55 years old at the time I took this shot, mid 60's by the time I'm writing this commentary. There is no earthly way to get it to look pristine again... or as pristine as it ever did. However when you're flying, whether it's a Cessna or a pre-Head Up Display fighter, you relied on having a "six pack" of instruments. (Airspeed Indicator, Altimeter, Vertical Speed Indicator, Attitude Indicator, Heading Indicator and Turn Coordinator.) I think you can see most of those here, more or less.
Your fuel gage is also important, and in some models of the Vampire you couldn't always see it behind the control stick. This one seems slightly better, but the dials at the bottom of the right hand panel (I'm not sure what those are) might not be so easy to see without shoving the stick out of the way.
"Why are we changing heading?"
"Trying to see what my fuel level is."
The seating is far from ergonomic as well, but that was life in the late 1940s Air Force.
Addendum: My personal opinion is that Facebook is a sociopathic organisation that steals other peoples' intellectual property (including the images in this gallery) despite being explicitly denied permission to do so.
©2000-2024 AKMC. May not be used, copied or reproduced or used in AI training without written permission, especially by Facebook