Car simulators, flight simulators and in general anything that simulates you having to maneuver a machine have never been exactly rewarding when being played on your desktop computer. No matter how large your monitor is or how real your joystick, it's not the same. And since there is no such thing as bumper cars equivalent for planes, flight enthusiast Matthew Sheil has decided to build his own 747-400 flight simulator.

The Matthew Flight Simulator manages to perfectly recreate the experience of flying a 747 without ever actually leaving the Sydney warehouse where this gadget is situated. The windows are replaced by computer screens that mimic the real world almost perfectly: "we actually see a Qantas 767 out the window - the software puts it in there for us - and he [sic] sees us." That's craftsmanship, right?

That's what the Guinness Book of Records guys must have said especially after hearing that Matthew's little exploit cost only 197.000 USD. Well, below the usual 40 million $ that military flight simulators usually cost, this feat has gained him the Guinness record for the “world's most expensive home flight simulator” (incredibly, there are people that built simulators into their bedrooms for even less money).

With 45 different software programs running on 14 different computers, Sheil is able to fly to and from 27.000 different airports around the world with such realism that you could swear you're 10.000 feet in the air and heading for London. It seems there is a whole network of flight enthusiasts that have built their own virtual world complete with air traffic controllers. There is only one question left: does this airplane come preinstalled with pretty hostesses? You just have to love the world we live in.

The money that Sheil earns from renting out his simulator is donated to the Royal Flying Doctor Service.


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