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A Would-Be Pilot Builds £2,000 Boeing 737 Cockpit In His Spare Room

A Would-Be Pilot Builds £2,000 Boeing 737 Cockpit In His Spare Room

Philip Evans has dreamt of being a pilot his whole life but did the next best thing when he retired

Dominic Smithers

Dominic Smithers

An aspiring pilot has build a replica of a Boeing 737 cockpit in his spare room.

Philip Evans, from Manchester, has spent his life dreaming of becoming a pilot, and has now spent £2,000 on creating his very own control centre.

It took the 58-year-old a year to complete the impressive structure, which includes everything from buttons and knobs, to dials and screens, which would all be found on the real thing.

Philip, a retired mortuary technician, had always wanted to follow a career in aviation, but once he had a bit more free time on his hands, did the next best thing.

And as well as being a passion, says it helps with 'keeping my mind active'.

Deadline News

The dad said: "The parts are expensive, I have to save up then buy them and then save up again.

"I taught myself how to do it using videos online and there's also a manual.

"But everything is exactly the same as a 737, if I don't do the sequences correctly, I can't start the plane, I can even crash.

"If I want to fly somewhere I have to plan a route and clear it with air traffic control.

"It's still a work in progress, but my wife doesn't mind. It's keeping my mind active, it's a lot to think about. It keeps me going."

His wife Yvette had expected the spare bedroom, which lay empty after their children left home, would be turned into the usual bar or games room.

Deadline News

And while he often disappears for hours at a time to pilot virtual aircrafts, she's happy her hubby has been able to follow his dream.

Praising her husband for his hard work, Yvette took to social media to post some photographs of the finished article.

She said: "He built [this] from scratch, his very own aircraft cockpit, his dream was to be a pilot.

"I am so proud of him, what do you think?"

Deadline News

It's safe to say that Philip's relationship with his cockpit is very different from that of Michele Köbke, who earlier this year announced that she hoped to marry a Boeing 737-800 at a ceremony in the Netherlands.

Michele claimed it was love at first sight for the 30-year-old and her soon-to-be husband, who 'met' at Berlin Tegel airport back in 2014.

Speaking about the embrace, Michele said: "The time in the hangar was the most beautiful moment of my life and when I was with him, we enjoyed our time together, we kissed and I caressed him."

Top work, Philip.

Featured Image Credit: Deadline News

Topics: Interesting, Technology