Actually why not put an iphone or something in the cockpit? It's not so anyone else can see it but for interior lights for the pilot. Play the Mechwarrior fan-made movie and maybe some other stuff like it, this way you get constantly changing backlighting in the cockpit and flares of light at appropriate times, plus "radio chatter" going on. Don't make it too loud of course, it's just ambient, but mount the iphone on the floor perhaps or where the cockpit controls would be - this way the pilot's lit up from the "displays" and the onlookers can't see where the light source is coming from.