For one North Korean defector, a childhood dream that once seemed completely impossible has finally become a reality, all thanks to a Boeing 737 simulator.
After escaping one of the world’s most isolated countries, he climbed into the cockpit of a Boeing 737 for the first time.
Although it wasn’t a real commercial flight, the realistic simulator gave him the opportunity to do things he could only imagine.
And by the end of the lesson, he was already dreaming about where the flight could take him next.
North Korean Air Force pilot makes his dream come true
The video features Ryu Sung Hyun visiting a Boeing 737 flight simulator to experience what it’s like to fly a commercial airliner.
YouTubers NK Guys and DimpleVideo surprised him with the chance to make his dream come true, and his excitement was palpable when he saw the sim.
NK Guys and DimpleVideo
He explained that when I was growing up in North Korea, flying on an airplane always seemed like a pipe dream.
Although he studied aviation and served in the North Korean Air Force, he had never flown a real airplane before or even used a flight simulator.
NK Guys and DimpleVideo
Entering the cockpit for the first time, he admitted that everything seemed incredibly realistic as the instructor walked him through the controls.
The lesson started with the basics, including how to control the aircraft’s heading, pitch, speed and bank angle.
As the flight simulation progressed, the instructor quickly moved on to the approach to Los Angeles, where the aspiring pilot learned how to set up the aircraft for landing.
NK Guys and DimpleVideo
This involved lowering the landing gear, selecting the correct flap settings, reducing speed, and aligning the aircraft with the runway using the instrument landing system.
Flying through simulated clouds, the instructor explained that navigation instruments become a pilot’s “lifeline” when visibility disappears.
After breaking through the clouds at about 500 feet, the runway finally appeared and it was time for the most difficult part of the flight—landing.
NK Guys and DimpleVideo
NK Guys and DimpleVideo
Flying a Boeing 737 turned out to be much more difficult than it seemed
Despite numerous instructions from the instructor, the landing did not go entirely according to plan.
Ryu joked that he actually “destroyed” a plane worth hundreds of millions of dollars in the simulator before ultimately managing to land successfully.
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He admitted that the controls were much more sensitive than he expected, noting that the plane did not always respond as quickly as he expected.
However, he described the experience as one he could never have imagined living in North Korea.
He also reflected on how his aviation training had helped him understand his instructor’s explanations, although he joked that he wished he had paid even more attention during class.
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Although he said he would rather relax in a business class seat on a real commercial flight than fly a 737 himself, the experience inspired a different dream.
Instead of piloting a large passenger plane, he said he would like to one day fly a small plane, taking family trips to beautiful islands with tiny airfields.
The emotional experience ended with him wondering how he managed to achieve what he once thought was impossible.