Opening the gray control lockers, standing at more than 6 feet tall, reveals electronics from the past; a sort of mummified collection of vacuum tubes and wires that run the device.

The shiny aircraft's nose and fuselage sit up off the floor. The windows are blacked out. The whole contraption sits inside a business park location near the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport.

The 1955 simulator of a C-118, the military version of the four-engine Douglas Aircraft Co.'s DC-6. It was built by the Curtis Wright Co. and called the DEHMEL Flight Simulator. It is the only one left in the world.

Used to train pilots, co-pilots and flight engineers the nuances of the DC-6 in flight, the simulator is a sought-after tool by specialized pilots worldwide. Although Northern Air Cargo will probably retire its last two DC-6 aircraft this fall, this simulator will remain useful.

“We have the Red Bull pilots who come here from Austria to train on the simulator to keep their flight proficiency,” said John Shirley, NAC's flight-training coordinator.

Pilots who work flying aerial tankers, officials with the Federal Aviation Administration and European airline pilots are on the roster of those who use the aged simulator.

“This is very useful because it simulates in-flight and on-ground emergencies that the crew trains for without actually burning any fuel,” said Ron Valentine, a pilot, ground instructor and flight instructor with NAC. “There are about 50 people a year who come to Alaska to train on this simulator.”

The simulator came from Florida, Shirley said. NAC bought the simulator to train flight crews at a time when the company boasted of flying almost two dozen DC-6 aircraft to deliver freight all over Alaska.

The simulator is not the only piece of aviation history owned by NAC. The company also purchased and used a DC-6 owned and flown by Howard Hughes in the 1950s and 1960s.

President Harry Truman was the first to use an aircraft for transportation and had a DC-6 retrofitted for 25 people with 12 beds.

Playing a part in aviation and Alaska history, finding a DC-6 is limited to flying in Alaska for commercial use. Several fitted for firefighting are used as aerial bombers.

The simulator, although motionless, has a fully working instrument panel with navigation, dual controls, and workable switches and dials that respond to the controls from the flight crew. It comes complete with engine sounds during start-up and cruise.

The technology of yesteryear is bulky, heavy and uses many megavolts of power, Shirley said. Despite outdated technology, it works with a series of electric motors, pulleys, cables and voltage regulators that require maintenance.

“We have a guy that comes in here and works with the electronics on a regular basis,” said Valentine. “He knows the old-school electronics.”

Ron Valentine records flight simulator time just aft of the DC-6 cockpit after an hour of simulated flight time. Switches shown in the foreground are used to control different effects to train flight crews for emergency situations. Photo/Rob Stapleton/AJOC

“It took three years just to assemble it,” said Shirley. “See those cracks in the cement floor? This is a heavy piece of equipment.”

It's capable of emitting smoke in the cockpit and communicating with antique radios and navigational devices that still work.

Behind the flight crew is an area complete with hundreds of dials and switches used to control a real flight or create an in-flight emergency.

“We can create any kind of a problem we want,” said Valentine. “That's what makes this so valuable.

The DC-6 aircraft was first built in 1947 and is powered by four 2,500-horsepower Pratt and Whitney radial engines that propelled the aircraft to more than 300 miles per hour. This power gave it the ability to haul 45,000 pounds of payload despite its weight of 55,000 pounds.

Douglas produced 700 of the aircraft up until it ceased manufacturing them in 1959.

Less than 50 of the DC-6 or C-118s are flying in the world today. Of the 700 that were produced, three companies still fly the aircraft to deliver unusual types of cargo into gravel or short airstrips.

The DC-6 can also land on beach airstrips to allow fresh fish to be flown to processing plants distant from the fishing grounds. Some of the aircraft were fitted with swing tails to ship vehicles, and others with fuel tanks to fly diesel fuel into rural areas.

Most of the work of starting the engines and going through myriad checklists is done by the flight engineer. Birgette Scholton is training to be a co-pilot, but has experience in the third seat. She ably took all the work out of a flight by handling all the checklist items, the engine run-up and takeoff procedures.

In front of the pilot and co-pilot is a 7-foot panel of steam gauges and over the blackened windscreen are a series of toggle switches. In the center of the panel are the engine instruments, everything quadrupled, one for each engine.

There are also a series of flight instruments displaying airspeed, artificial horizon, compass and variometer. Basically all the pilot has to do is to steer, brake on the ground, and fly the airplane once its airborne.

Flying the simulator is very realistic. The three-quarter circular control wheel used by the pilots deflects differently as flight stages and airspeeds change. That's especially true of the ailerons, which need muscling to get the aircraft to turn.

Ailerons are the control surfaces normally located in the outer portion of the trailing edge of the wing that control the aircrafts roll.

The rudder pedals were light to maneuver. Once in simulated flight, it is easy to coordinate a turn by the needle and ball in the turn-and-bank indicator.

“Just keep your airspeed up and watch your bank angle. Fly the plane,” said Capt. Jim Foss, who was riding as co-pilot for this flight.

Not much backpressure is needed on the elevators once you lift off, and it trims nicely with a wheel mounted just to the right of the pilot near the propeller and throttle controls located between the two pilots.

Perhaps the hardest part of using the simulator was the lack of visual contact with the outside world. It is a fly by instrument simulator.

The hour of simulated flight included a few emergency procedures. Shortly after take-off, there was a tail heater overheat warning. Scholton handled it nicely.

“Just fly the plane don't pay any attention to the problem, let the flight engineer handle it,” said Foss.

Before “landing” in Bethel, the number two engine caught fire. Bells were ringing, red lights flashing. Scholton went through the procedures, which resulted in shutting down the engine and feathering the prop.

The aircraft has a different feel and required additional rudder to make up for the lack of thrust on one side of the aircraft. This provided a little different technique to fly with any accuracy and took some time to get it dialed in.

The landing was fairly simple making the approach by instruments was different, but the glide aided by the addition of flaps and landing gear were all accurately reflected in the controls after Scholton added them to the mix.

Assessing the experience of flying the simulator, one could see where the checklists and procedures needed to address in-flight challenges would be enhanced by using the simulator.