Back in the 1940s when I was perhaps eight or ten years old
(you've got to cut me a little slack when it comes to remembering things that
long ago) my parents gave me a Christmas gift that was intended to
simulate an airplane cockpit.
A far cry from even the simplest of today's machines known
generically as "flight simulators," it was rudimentary to the
extreme. Made of sturdy cardboard (considerable assembly required) my
“airplane” had an instrument panel full of painted-on gauges and indicators
that remained motionless. It had a moveable yoke and control column that fit
into a hole in the panel and a pair of free-standing cardboard rudder
pedals that rested on the floor and responded to foot pressure by virtue
of accordion folds.
