

Igor Perne (L), 53, an electronic engineer and a member of the International Virtual Aviation Organisation (IVAO), and fellow virtual pilot Franc Lavric gesture for the camera before taking off on a virtual flight in a flight simulator in Nova Vas, Slovenia November 13, 2014. In 2011, Perne, a lifelong flying enthusiast, bought parts of a written-off Cyprus Airways airliner and then spent two and a half years turning the entire nose of the scrapped aircraft into an elaborate flight simulator. Perne had to install some 10km (6.21 miles) of wiring to connect some 300 working switches and 250 indicator lights, as well as hooking up six computers to run the simulation. Perne cooperates with fellow flying enthusiasts in the Netherlands, Germany, and several other countries, flying on virtual routes across a virtual European sky, complete with virtual flight control operators and realistic checklists and weather conditions. (Photo by Srdjan Zivulovic/Reuters)





Igor Perne (L), 53, an electronic engineer and a member of the International Virtual Aviation Organisation (IVAO), and fellow virtual pilot Franc Lavric talk about their proposed flying route for a virtual flight in Nova Vas November 13, 2014. (Photo by Srdjan Zivulovic/Reuters)



Igor Perne (L), 53, an electronic engineer and a member of the International Virtual Aviation Organisation (IVAO), and fellow virtual pilot Franc Lavric clean the windows of a flight simulator before taking off on a virtual flight in Nova Vas November 13, 2014. (Photo by Srdjan Zivulovic/Reuters)



Igor Perne, 53, an electronic engineer and a member of the International Virtual Aviation Organisation (IVAO), leaves his apartment for a session in his flight simulator, in Nova Vas November 13, 2014. (Photo by Srdjan Zivulovic/Reuters)



Igor Perne, 53, an electronic engineer and a member of the International Virtual Aviation Organisation (IVAO), shows a picture of the Cyprus Airways Airbus 320 which he used to make his flight simulator (back) in Nova Vas November 13, 2014. (Photo by Srdjan Zivulovic/Reuters)



Igor Perne, 53, an electronic engineer and a member of the International Virtual Aviation Organisation (IVAO), steps into his flight simulator in Nova Vas November 13, 2014. (Photo by Srdjan Zivulovic/Reuters)



Igor Perne, 53, an electronic engineer and a member of the International Virtual Aviation Organisation (IVAO), checks the window of his flight simulator in Nova Vas November 13, 2014. (Photo by Srdjan Zivulovic/Reuters)



Igor Perne (R), 53, an electronic engineer and a member of the International Virtual Aviation Organisation (IVAO), and fellow virtual pilot Franc Lavric fly on a virtual flight in a flight simulator in Nova Vas November 13, 2014. (Photo by Srdjan Zivulovic/Reuters)



Igor Perne, 53, an electronic engineer and a member of the International Virtual Aviation Organisation (IVAO), checks the window of his flight simulator in Nova Vas November 13, 2014. (Photo by Srdjan Zivulovic/Reuters)



Igor Perne (R), 53, an electronic engineer and a member of the International Virtual Aviation Organisation (IVAO), and fellow virtual pilot Franc Lavric check the controls before taking off on a virtual flight in a flight simulator in Nova Vas November 13, 2014. (Photo by Srdjan Zivulovic/Reuters)



Igor Perne (R), 53, an electronic engineer and a member of the International Virtual Aviation Organisation (IVAO), checks the controls after landing a virtual flight in a flight simulator in Nova Vas November 13, 2014. (Photo by Srdjan Zivulovic/Reuters)



Igor Perne (R), 53, an electronic engineer and a member of the International Virtual Aviation Organisation (IVAO), checks the controls after landing a virtual flight in a flight simulator in Nova Vas November 13, 2014. (Photo by Srdjan Zivulovic/Reuters)



Igor Perne, 53, an electronic engineer and a member of the International Virtual Aviation Organisation (IVAO), steps out of his flight simulator after a virtual flying session, in Nova Vas November 13, 2014. (Photo by Srdjan Zivulovic/Reuters)



Igor Perne (L), 53, an electronic engineer and a member of the International Virtual Aviation Organisation (IVAO), and fellow virtual pilot Franc Lavric leave a building housing Perne’s flight simulator, after a virtual flying session, in Nova Vas November 13, 2014. (Photo by Srdjan Zivulovic/Reuters)



Igor Perne, 53, an electronic engineer and a member of the International Virtual Aviation Organisation (IVAO), and fellow virtual pilot Franc Lavric fly on a virtual flight in a flight simulator in Nova Vas November 13, 2014. (Photo by Srdjan Zivulovic/Reuters)

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