The Panel

Now that part was was quite a challenge. :-)

The SR71 is not an aircraft you know someone who knows someone who owns it and with whom you can quite easily set a meeting for doing photoresearch for a software project within the cockpit on a ferry flight.

For obvious reaons - or shall I say despite the fact the aircraft basically is retired - there are very few relyable pictures of the real cockpit around. And most of them are black&white. Of course there are several aircraft on display in various museums. However, most of them have no cockpit access, the cockpit is stripped (no instruments!), and those you can access have thick glass and plastic covers distracting the view and preventing "visitors" to supply themselves with valuabel material for the "virtual cockpit" at home. :-)

Additionally, this being a Cross-Promotion-Project with SONY Pictures Germany, we had to very carefully select the approach to the matter. By all means it had to be usable and understandable for the general audience, especially for those never having been in contact with Microsoft Flight Simulator. Even the unexperienced user should be able to handle the aircraft, understand what he is doing and have lots of fun!

Therefore we asked the man, who "has a record", since he has done several of these types of panels in the past: Dr. Hans Altmann. 

His work always is is a work of art. Carefully he balances colors and size of fonts to guarantee readability of all gauges in every situation. He is full of ideas for inovative stuff to increase the fun as well as the usability within Flight Simulation.

This in mind he was my "Number 1" for this project. Unfortunately I got a "No". "Sorry folks, too busy ...".

One day later I got a call. "OK, I'll do it." And now he is hooked to even go beyond my ideas ... :-)

Here some very first screenshots. Check the HUD!