After realizing the cost of buying a life size Cessna 172 Flight Simulator, I decided to build one on my own instead.
While developing an entire project from scratch is usually more expensive than buying a single pre-produced unit, the case for flight simulators is quite different. It was roughly three times cheaper to design and build the simulator from scratch, even including the cost of equipment like a 3D printer, laser cutter, computer, and routers.
The project began with me drawing sketches on paper towels during slow days at work and quickly expanded into the digital world of CAD.
The base of the simulator is the projector backdrop, made of curved ribs of plywood and hinged joins for compact storage. The main cockpit, where all the magic happens, was precision CNC cut to house all the flight simulation components. Through the mastery of 3D printing and laser cutting, I was able to get everything fastened and working in sync.
The final component: projector Towers.
The engineering behind the design of the towers may seem overkill. However, they were meticulously designed to achieve the correct calculated height, angle, and stability required for the projection to align with the backdrop, ensuring they are not blocked by the person flying. The angled box design you see at the top of the tower was also designed to house two of the six overall speakers that create surround sound for the flight.
The Final Product
In future prototypes and iterations for cockpits, I plan to switch to a VR and monitor hybrid system in order to cut down the physical footprint, reduce cost, and lower the barrier to entry. This would also make shipping and setup much more practical. Additionally, designing custom PCBs for the flight simulation components and developing integration software will make configuration with X-Plane nearly automatic.
Software and the flight-tracking module are currently in the prototyping phase, with data being collected to train machine learning algorithms to automatically determine stages of flight.
