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Aircraft cockpits from 65 years ago bear little resemblance to those of today. The technology was relatively crude as aviation was just emerging from the open cockpit, strictly seat of the pants, fabric-covered biplane era. Nevertheless, we should regard the Mosquito cockpit as state of the art for its time. In the early 1940s, avionics meant little more than a two way radio that worked on tubes, power-assisted controls were unknown, and navigation by "dead reckoning" was still the norm.

Flying a Mosquito was an unforgettable challenge for even the most experienced pilots. The first Merlin engines were none too reliable, and the single engine safety speed was a rather high 155 mph. The cockpit was Spartan, cramped and noisy, but the aircraft itself was light and responsive like a vintage sports car. You sort of wore it like a pair of gloves.

The release handle for the escape hatch on the Mosquito bomber was secured with nothing more than a strip of leather. On the fighter bomber, the escape hatch was held down with a bungee cord. On the bomber, windshield demisting was accomplished by squeezing on a rubber bulb.