I always wondered: what would it take me to fly in the cockpit? I'm not a pilot, but I'm willing to be subjected to any amount of security/background check that'll let me witness the machine in action, end-to-end.
I spent a good chunk of my early 20s commuting across the Atlantic. Before 9/11, all you had to do was ask a flight attendant and they'd go check with the pilots and bring you up a short while later. I used to do it most flights overnight from New York, it broke up the journey which was otherwise pretty miserable in coach. I remember the pilots being delighted to have me up there, really for them it's as boring as it is for us in the back I was someone new to talk to for a bit. I remember one time some Virgin Atlantic pilots were more excited about my colorful socks than I was about their new glass cockpit 747-400.
I was never turned down and always felt very welcome. At most I had to wait a bit until some turbulence passed.
It's sad that has gone and won't ever come back. I have kids now and they'd get a _huge_ kick out of an experience like that.
EDIT: you can however still pay for some hours in an airline training simulator. It's astonishingly close to the real thing and might scratch that itch for you. Some airlines offer it, other training companies do.