FlyWithRookie’s Fully Enclosed Boeing 737NG Home Flight Simulator Puts a Line Jet Behind a Locking Door

FlyWithRookie streams from a Boeing 737NG flight deck that occupies a room the way a real jet occupies a hangar. Flight Deck Solutions in Canada supplied the fixed-base trainer, mixing replica hardware with real aircraft parts from the shell inward, and the result includes circuit breaker walls, a crew jumpseat, a working cockpit door that latches, and a custom galley aft of the flight deck. He has said there is nothing more satisfying than pressing TOGA and watching a real-world throttle walk forward as the jet builds toward V1, rotate, and V2.

Walking through that door puts you right in the middle of a full-size 737NG; everything is there, including the overhead panels, glare shield, main instrument panel, and aisle stand, which are all exactly where they should be on an actual jet. The captain and first officer seats are located on a unique platform designed to replicate the shaking of a real plane. There are also seismic sound transducers under both pilot seats, allowing you to feel the engine start and APU spool rather than just hearing them. Two ButtKicker LFE Mini units on the same platform add some of the heavier hits, such as speedbrakes coming out, pavement seams as you roll out of the gate, the main-gear touchdown, and the sensation of putting the gear on. Even the flight attendant chairs in the galley have their own transducers, so the rumbling of the cabin isn’t simply at the pointy end of the plane.

Behind the locked door sits a small airline world that most home sims never bother to finish. In-flight entertainment is provided by a 24 inch wall-mounted smart TV, similar to what you would find on a plane. Two speakers on the galley wall simulate the ambient cabin noise you’d hear on an actual trip. Another iPad hangs on the wall, dubbed the Flight Attendant Information Control Center, which controls everything from galley lighting to main cabin lighting, heat, air conditioning, and even flight tracking. You also got two more iPads up front, which were loaded with performance data and navigation. That back piece is what makes this configuration truly feel like a jet, rather than just a desk with a yoke.

Three Optoma short throw game projectors paint a 12 foot wrap-around screen, providing approximately 220 degrees of view. The Elise Immersive Display Pro performs an excellent job of mixing all three images, ensuring that the outside environment is not sliced up by the window frames. You can glance left and right through real window shapes in an Alu nose section, modeled from the actual airplane, and the projected world remains nice and continuous around the glare shield.

Sound work matches the metal. The main PC is equipped with a Logitech Z906 5.1 system to handle the principal airplane noise. The client PC features a Logitech Z313 2.1 stack that handles secondary aircraft sounds. There’s also an aural warning module on the first officer side that activates all of the GPWS callouts, fire bells, and other warning systems. Combined with the seat transducers and platform kickers, starting up, taxiing, and landing are truly a full-fledged physical experience, not simply a soundtrack.

Three computers ensure that the 737NG, jet, world, and stream don’t get on each other’s nerves. The primary computer is powered by an Intel Core i9-12900K processor, 64 GB of RAM, a 1,000-watt power supply, and a high-end EVGA GeForce RTX 3090 FTW3 graphics card. The main storage drive is a 4TB Samsung 980 Pro. When it comes to client work, this computer features an i9-9900K, a ROG Z390 board, 32 GB of RAM, another 1,000-watt power supply, a matching EVGA 3090 FTW3, and a matching 4 TB 980 Pro. Meanwhile, dispatch and live broadcasting are handled by an i9-11900K processor connected to a high-end ASUS motherboard, Z590 ROG Maximus Hero, 32 GB of RAM, a 1,000 watt EVGA power supply, an RTX 3090 FTW3 Ultra, and 2TB of Samsung Evo storage. Three computers and three iPads are a lot of electronics for a room, which is how a full 737NG runs smoothly even when someone is on camera.