Space problems - suggestions?

[Guest mmorrell]

Hi all,As my project evolves, I am running into severe space issues. I am building my sim in an 8X12 room that also serves as our home office. Needless to say, as the thing evolves my wife is getting increasingly anxious about my project taking over this small space.Additionall, I have recently aquired an NEC XG135LC projector that can do up to a 300" screen, but the thing needs lots of room!So... I am looking for alternatives for where to build my cockpit. I was looking at the pics of James Price's recent SimFest and it looks like he has his cockpit setup in a rental storage space or something... is anyone doing this or something similar? Any and all suggestions welcome! Best Regards -mitch

[Guest]

Hmmm, I was thinking that was a hangar he had it in! Now I'm not sure...

[Guest]

I think James Price has his in a hangar at an airport. What many people do is put the sim in their garage or basement. I have mine in a room with some other stuff and it it quite crowded. Perhaps you can build something in the back yard. :-lol If not the easiest thing seems to be to find some kind of storeage space outside of your home.

[Guest PeterK]

PeterK My P-51 mustang cockpit is built on a 40"-60" shipping palletwhich is made of hard wood and plasic coated wood...It shippedsomthing real expensive??? Found it in a Industrial park throwout pile..The pallet has office wheelson the bottom so it moves...This big thing is space but if you confine yourself to a pallet and its on wheels so is moves its alot better than a static objectAdd a car seat panels and monitor and it can be anything you want...kind of lonely out in the garage it gets cold out there at 11pm..Pete http://home.attbi.com/~fs-boneyard

[tigert 0]

Since this thread is about space limitations and such, I thought I'd post this..I was thinking about how to solve the exact same problem, and I found myself toying with an idea - a modification to my cockpit console:http://tigert.gimp.org/vatsim/cockpit-stuff/idea.jpgSo instead of using two screens, one could just build an "enclosure" around the current (maybe 19" or whatever one has) monitor - have a larger "windscreen" for outside view on top just like on normal FS panels, and then have a physical circle-holes-panel on the bottom part and just have a very simple FS panel there with gauges positioned behind the holes. And rotary knobs for adjusting all the gauges (altimeter, VOR radial, gyro drift, heading etc..) The big space saver is the fact that this has both the outside visual and the gauges on the same monitor. While it may be less fancy than some projectors and such, this might be a feasible way to start the cockpit construction hobby, or to have something that *definitely* works and enchanges your sim experience, while you cannot afford the big space of your home for the project.So, everything can be put in the right place in terms of cockpit routines and control knobs etc..Tuomas

[Guest kdarling]

Tuomas,Nice graphic! Yeah, I've always wondered why someone doesn't make even just an inexpensive flat overlay to fit over your monitor, with cutouts and cheap rotaries or tactile switches for games and sims.My own sim I'm trying to find time to work on will have the foam board cutouts for the instrument panel in front of a 17" monitor, an avionics cutout panel in front of a 14" monitor , and an outside view projector. All the foam board overlays will have embedded rotaries and pushbuttons.I would be willing to stop and wait for the new FDS C172 Flightcenter if I knew for sure it was only weeks away, however:www.flightdecksolutions.com/flightcenters/C172Flightcenter.htmAs to the original poster's question... here's an idea to take advantage of your small space: get a computer armoire! The kind that when closed, looks nice for company. But when you open it out you could easily have a main control panel, a pullout center pedestal to your right, and perhaps even a flop-down overhead panel. Look at this example and imagine it filled with a flight deck:http://www.sauder.com/productpage.asp?Prod...uter%5FArmoiresHappy hacking,Kev

[Guest kdarling]

PS. If you imagine your idea with an LCD screen, thin digital avionic displays, all run by a laptop... then the whole darned thing (without yoke) would fit in about a 30" wide x 17" high x 2" thick slim metal/plastic carrying case. Now that would be a slick item for traveling simmers... or heck, just to store anywhere in your house.Kev

[Guest mmorrell]

All,I apologize... I should have been more clear...I am building a full size sim (no shell), with a large format CRT display. Out the window view is ~8 feet. So I am looking for suggestions on alternatives to a garage (don't have one).I am actually thinking about ripping out a couple of trees in the yard and building a "shed" for it, but that is a pretty brute force approach. Hence my questions about storage areas, etc.A hanger at an airport sounds REALLY expensive! Any and all suggestions appreciated!Best regards -mitch

[Guest Salbado]

Hi Mitch,Yeah, I have some space issues as well. The "sim room" is a dedicated room (no room for anything but the cockpit) and is 9 x 11...and the projector is against the wall throwing about 9 feet for a 60" visual over the cockpit roof opposite wall in front of the windscreen. To increase size of the the visual display, I am exploring two ways, a mirror by Buhl or a projector magnifier by Panamorph. Have not tried either but I think I will use a mirror (First Surface Glass) to increase the "throw" to the wall. Good luck.