Dad spends £15,000 building £100,000 flight simulator in his house
A combination of second-hand parts, YouTube tutorials and a lot of time has led to a burgeoning business
A DAD of two has spent £15,000 building a full-size Boeing 737 flight simulator in his house.
Flight-sim game fan David Naylor, 41, started building the rig in 2017 after being made redundant.
The 10-foot-wide booth fills what used to be the dining room of his house in Barnsley, and features six screens, and bought off the shelf would have set him back around £100,000.
It contains all the hardware you'd expect in a 737 cockpit, including authentic seats, controls and dials.
He bought most of the parts online, and put them together himself despite having no relevant experience.
David said: "I have always enjoyed flight simulators on the computer and I had seen people on YouTube build real ones.
"When I got made redundant I decided to invest my time and money and take the opportunity to give it a go.
"I had to learn how to solder and do all the electrical work, which was definitely a big challenge," David said.
"I built it in what used to be my dining room right next to the front door, there was nowhere else for it.
"My kids don't pay any attention to it whatsoever, they think I'm a bit mad I think," he admitted.
After setting up a website and sticking a sign in his front window, David now charges up to £130 an hour for other flight sim fans or budding pilots to use his set-up.
MOST READ IN GAMING
"It's been really popular and got to the point now where it's a source of income and I don't have to go back to my normal job," he revealed.
If you're inspired by David's creation there are other options now the flight sim niche has been filled -- Farming Simulator is exploding in popularity, while Fishing Sim World won over millions when it was released last year. Or you could just put your racing sim skills to the test and try to sign for an F1 team.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368 . We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.