Hummingfrog, your pic of the AT6 panel and its haphazard instrument layout is a reminder that was one thing we Brits did better - our standard 6-dial IF panel, common to all UK aircraft, was vastly superior to the then usual US shambles of a layout that not only varied from one type to another, but often between aircraft of the same type. Also, that rotary ignition switch of the kind that had a master 'off' postion always seemed to me a disaster in waiting; for what would happen if there were a short or similar fault in the switch or its connecting cable(s)?
Having said that, I did find the Dakota's cockpit to be a far more comfortable environment than that of any home-built bird, as will be seen later on in this saga.
Danny42C. No our contingent on the Pasteur arrived in good health, despite the indifferent fare provided on voyage! Anyway, later experience has proved that other countries provide Customs officials notably worse than those of Liverpool - for instance, ever experienced the US variety on a bad day?