Hello from N.E. Oregon

[galaxy engineer]

Hey Folks!
My name is Brett and I am a long time ''dabbler'' in the sim hobby (1998ish) mostly not much further than a single monitor and the latest version of MSFS.  Early on my greatest add on was to hook up a kick ass sound system to ''up the reality''.  Needless to say that usually fell way short of total immersion......LOL!

I served in the USAF as a C-5 Galaxy flight engineer and my favorite training aid was the simulator that I had to spend a few hours in each quarter.  It was nothing short of AWESOME.  A full  6DOF with projected surround visuals.  My FE station was incredibly realistic in that everything functioned.  When doing a sim mission it was very easy to get sucked into the reality of it all.  Those that have trained in a top level sim know what I am talking about.  I remember being as fascinated with the ''smoke and mirrors'' of the sim as I was with its immersive qualities.  I quickly became friends with the maintainers just so I could get a look around the beast.  I usually found myself giving a tour to them of the actual airplane as a trade for them showing me around the sim.

Long story short I found myself retired with the same insatiable urge to sim.  Having had the taste for the best it is going to be a very hard itch to scratch.  I am blown away by some of the home cockpits out there in the world. 

I have also had a long passion for R/C airplanes and got into FPV (First Person View) which is a term used to describe flying a radio controlled plane by way of a video transmitter on the plane down linked to a monitor from which the pilot fly's from.  Its like sitting in the plane itself and flying it.  Flying from just a monitor with a transmitter in my hand wasn't good enough so I built my own cockpit from which to sit and fly the model from.  I also can hook up my computer up and use it as a straight up computer type simulator running MSFSX.  It is a very immersive experience and if you visit my Youtube channel you will see what I am talking about.  https://www.youtube.com/user/brettsgalaxyvids/videos

My next goal is to build another sim but with a much more upgraded visual system using 3 projectors and a much more realistic cockpit in the GA realm like a Cessna 172.
I dont know crap about visuals and how to wring it out of the computer systems so that is why I am here.  I figure there are guys out there that can help me with the set up.  I recently acquired a Triplehead2go and 3 short throw projectors but I have no idea of their capabilities or if they would even work.  Guess I will find out......LOL. 

I have plenty of room and even more ideas but I tend to get ''analyses paralyses'' because I just do not know what to expect.  hopefully I can find help here with a visual set up. 

Thanks
Brett Hays

Here are a couple of links to my construction blogs of my FPV cockpit if anyone is interested........ 
http://fpvlab.com/forums/showthread.php?16769-Full-Cockpit-Ground-Station-construction-blog

http://flitetest.com/articles/fpv-full-scale-cockpit-ground-station-w-42-tv

[Trevor Hale]

Hi Brett,

Welcome to the group.  We have a few guys here that are "EXPERTS" When it comes to visuals.  "Nat being one of them".

Do some searches on Visuals, and although some of the threads get pretty heated, all in all we all have Passion for this hobby.

Trev

[pcpilotmd80]

Hey Brett welcome my USAF bro,

I flew on the C-9a aerovac as a medic in the early 90's stationed at Scott AFB.  Hence got me addicted to this hobby as well and Im working on a DC-9  sim project.  I'm NOT the guy to ask for advice on visuals, most is on personal preference on HDTVs vs Projectors.  I watched lots of youtube on it too.  You've come to the right place joining the site; Im still new but the "pitmaster veterans" here are most helpful and they should get you pointed in the right direction.  Welcome!

Mike

[Nat Crea]

Awesome video Brett!
I have never seen RC flying done that way...intriguing.

Like Trevor said...God help us if there is another TV vs Projector thread! 
There is a heap of information and discussion on visuals here...hours of fun reading.

Us members here can help you get only so far with visuals, and like I always say(with a great deal of fear these days!), is that you have to dig in and give it a go, experiment, fail, try again and then again...
Ive been at it for way too long and still tweaking.

Nat

[galaxy engineer]

Thanks for the reply's Guys! 
Great to know this community is alive and well.  I am a very active member of the FPV (First Person View model airplane flying) online community at FPVLAB.com and am among the first to build a full cockpit to fly airplanes from. 

I find it funny that there is a huge debate between the type of visuals to use......we have the same type of debates going on over on the FPVLab......LOL!

By no means do I want to spark a debate......LOL.....but I am currently experimenting with 3 short throw projectors and am starting to see all the angles and dangles among other nuances that go along with setting up a multiple displays.   Geeeeeeez!  LOL.

My plan is to fit it all in a trailer that once used to be a powered parachute trailer.  This way I can be mobile and still use it for FPV.  I am not sure if it is all possible but I really want to mount 3 cameras to a plane (instead of the normal one camera) and  have more of a panorama view while flying..........but I also want a very nice mobile simulator that I can tow to local events and whatnot. 

I am a member of our local aero-club and was recently put in charge of setting up and maintaining our club sim which is a disappointing Jay sim by redbird.  It is not a very immersive experience but fun to have contest with at club meetings......lol. 

I am finding that putting 3 projectors in one place is near impossible.  My 3 screens I plan to use are 59 inches across each and the two outside screens are set at a slight outward angle.  I am not even sure what that angle is suppose to be but I am just at this point trying to fit it all inside a limited space in the trailer with secure enough mounting so road bumps wont knock it all out of whack.....lol.  Needless to say I see a few compromises (and failures) in my future.  If I had the money, I am sure that three 80'' diagonal flat screen HDTV's would be the way to go.......lol.

Al;so with this system I hope to be able to takeout and insert different cockpits like a Cessna 172 cockpit or a J-3 Cub cockpit or a jet type cockpit.  These ''other'' pits could be built by other people in my aero club even.  For now I am experimenting with the cockpit I built for FPV and the next project will be a 172 after I get the visuals figured out.  I'm biting off quite a bit here I know but it starts with a dream I guess.

I will keep you posted I guess........

[RayS]

(I'll add more fuel to this...  )

I put together a 180-degree, 3 projector system but that never got off the ground. There was simply no room in the basement fr the large screen.

I ended up reducing it to a 120-degree, 2-projector setup which is perfect for my Beech 1900 sim. In your case it sounds like you might have even less room, so maybe 2 would work.

The problems, which you've already identified are alignment and possibly being only able to use ultra-short throw projectors, due to the limited space.

Then of course there's all that alignment that needs to happen with warping software.

I almost used 3 LCD tv sets but the ability to actually look around is incredible. You lose a bit of definition, but there's also no dividing lines across the screen as you would get with LCD tvs.

[Caflyt]

People still use projectors? 

JUST KIDDING!!!

[XOrionFE]

My .02....

Ah, gotcha...not going there

I am not going to contribute to this conversation.....

Good luck.

[blueskydriver]

Hi Brett,

Welcome to Cockpit Builders... I had typed out a rather long post for you and was about to type things about trailer limitations, and I mistakenly closed the wrong tab! Nearly 30 minutes worth of typing gone in an instant.

So, rather then retype it all, how about you call me? If you send me an email address through a PM, I will send you my home phone number through a PM. I have talked to many of the other members on here, so you won't have to worry about anything. Additionally, I've been a part of this site since the first pixels were being built...lol...okay, okay not that long (that was Trevor and Bob), but I came along somewhere after that.

The main point is I am into RC planes (over 50 of them), as well as I'm into FPV Quad Copters, B737 and B727 full size simulators, and I have a 28' cargo trailer for all the RC stuff. So, I am right up your alley. The only thing I didn't do was the USAF; instead, I was one of those tiny little specs of dirt you likely saw on the ground known as "Ground Pounders"...US Army...anyway, military all the same  .

Finally, I believe I might have something that would work great for your ideas. Send me the PM and I'll fill you in. I am on CST time and I usually stay up late; maybe not tonight, but most nights...

Best Regards,

John

Edit: I have watched many of your videos prior too you joining CB. With having my Quad, I wanted to do something like your small trailer, but in a bigger trailer and that is how I found your YouTube channel before. 

[galaxy engineer]

Again, thanks for the further responses guys.  Blueskydriver......I sent you a PM.

This information is exactly why I am here.  I figure there is no reason to re-invent the wheel.  I have not had the opportunity to make the same mistakes and figure out the efficient ways to do things.  I know there is a pool of experience to draw from.  Keep the opinions coming!!  I'm listening!

Brett