Photos: NASA's FutureFlight Central

An external view of NASA Ames' flight simulator, which is an exact replica of a Boeing 747's cockpit. When it was built 14 years ago by CAE, a Canadian aircraft builder, it was the most modern long hull aircraft on the market. It has all the core specifications, certified by the FAA, but it's fully configurable. The light switches can be interchanged with landing controls, for example.

Out the window of the flight simulator, test pilots see a 3-D visualization of an airport runway, helping them to practice landings in bad weather, for example.