I started building a fully implemented F-16 cockpit in 2004, after years of flying in a Thunderseat with my Hotas placed on side consoles. I hardly ever flew from a desk. It took about 10 years of work and I am still this day into finetuning and completing minor details of the cockpit.
The full story can be read on Viperpit from now but I will update this blog with dedicated cockpit articles.
To read them select the cockpit category in the right menu.