If we had a pilot model in the interior cockpit view, think of the possibilities...

[Lucas_From_Hell]

Originally Posted by TheGrunch

Yeah, I agree. Looking back from a gunner position and seeing the aircraft's controls moving on their own would be pretty weird.

Not quite, it's better to look and think "There's someone ghost flying this aircraft!" than "There's no one flying this aircraft!"

Anyway, I don't think this is too time consuming to the point it should be ignored. We're talking about basic animations - legs pushing rudder left and right; right hand moving the stick around; left hand taking care of the throttle. But, of course, isn't anything close to top in priorities list. These details should be left for last (but not least), when the major things are done.

The point of having such small and, apparently silly things is that good simulators separate from the rest by the ammount of detail in it. These are those pilot animations, the cockpit sliding back, glasses breaking under fire, and all those little things that make you actually feel inside the cockpit, under pressure, under fire, and under G, rather than sitting in a chair in front of a monitor.