Pictures of my curved screen setup

[HondaCop]

Sean, I haven't been able to purchase the materials yet but I did order the screen from Carl's Place today! Joe is a terrific guy!

I placed an order for a screen 22.5' long and 6.5' tall (taking into account the border and grommets every 6" apart)...

I'm thinking of building the frame with PVC pipe and bending them using the hot sand/jig technique.

[HondaCop]

Sean, got my screen a few days ago!!! It looks AWESOME but I still haven't put it up yet! hahaha

Let me get this straight. Since the screen is 22.5' x 6.5', do I need to make my PVC frame 23' x 7'?? In other words, add 3" on each side for the bungee cords to stretch?

[Sean Nixon]

My screen (including the black border) is 78" tall (same as yours)! The framework between centres of the top and bottom conduits is 82". That's 4" more, 2" each side.

I didn't set out to make the frame that particular size, it's just how it worked out during construction. Here's how I did it...

Step 1 - Decide where you want the top of the screen to be and fix the top frame only. Don't forget to allow for the stretch (about 2-3"). Make the conduit longer than it needs to be at each end. It will be shortened later. Hang the screen from the top rail and position it so that it's a central as you can get, i.e. the left and right ends are equally positioned.

Step 2 - Insert a couple of bungees into adjacent holes on the bottom of the screen, near the centre point. Stretch the screen as much as you can and mark where the bungees come to. That will be where you need to fix the bottom frame. Measure the distance between that and the top rail. Mine is 82". I'm guessing yours will be similar. The taughtness of the screen is not critical, but you want to get it as tight as you comfortably can without putting too much stress on the fixing holes/framework. Fit the bottom frame, again, leaving the ends long, and attach the screen. It should be starting to look good now.

Step 3 - Now we need to sort the ends out. If you're lucky, you'll have a stud in just the right place to take the vertical framework. If not, you may need to add an extra stud at each end. You may think the ends are unimportant, as they are out of sight when in the cockpit, but you need to get the screen as taught as you can, as it affects the wrinkles in the centre. Pull an end, like you did to the bottom in step 2, and mark where the framework needs to be. Fit it, leaving slightly long top and bottom. Attach the screen. Repeat for the other side.

Step 4 - I used proprietary corners to finish my framework. Simply hold the corner piece up to the vertical and horizontal conduits, mark where they need to be cut, then cut and fit the 4 corners.

Step 5 - grab a cold one and admire your handy work!

There's nothing to stop you making the frame all in one go, but I'd strongly recommend building it in-situ as I've described. That way, you are sure the screen will be hung as best as you can get it.

Have fun Efrain. Don't forget the pics at the end, and be sure to shout if you need help, I'll be waiting!

Sean

[HondaCop]

Awesome, Sean! I am almost done with the screen! Yesterday, I was able to put up the vertical studs and last week, I found a nice way to give 3/4" PVC pipe a curve! haha This way, the piping doesn't put too much strain on the studs when installing them, since they are already curved. In the next few days, I will put up the PVC pipes, hang the screen and finish off the framework as per your tips.

BTW, which side of the screen are you projecting on? The fabric or vinyl side?

[Sean Nixon]

Excellent. I'm projecting onto the vinyl side.

[spitfire9]

I was wondering,, how do you put a curve in those pvc pipes?

[OmniAtlas]

Sean, I haven't been able to purchase the materials yet but I did order the screen from Carl's Place today! Joe is a terrific guy!

I placed an order for a screen 22.5' long and 6.5' tall (taking into account the border and grommets every 6" apart)...

I'm thinking of building the frame with PVC pipe and bending them using the hot sand/jig technique.

Hi Efrain, how much did your material end up costing?

[HondaCop]

I was wondering,, how do you put a curve in those pvc pipes?

I basically did the following steps:

1. I used my back deck and drew an outline of my curve on the floor. The curved line I drew is about 12 feet long since my PVC pipes are 10 feet in length. The radius of the curve is 5.5 feet.

2. I then screwed a pair of screws, down the length of the line at about 12" intervals. The screws are about 1 inch apart from each other, where 1 screw is 1/2" on one side of the line and other screw is 1/2" on the opposite side. In other words, once the pipe lays between the screws, the pipe will rest on the curved line. This is my jig.

3. I heated up sand in the oven at 525 degrees F for 15 minutes.

4. Once heated, place an end cap on one end of the pipe and proceed to fill the pipe with the heated sand until it's completely filled with hot sand. Once filled, cap off that end as well. Be very careful and don't burn yourself!

5. By the time you are done capping both ends, you will notice the pipe is very warm to the touch and it will bend easily.

6. Go ahead and quickly place the pipe on the jig. The pipe should be resting between all the screws and it will take the shape of the curved line.

7. Let the pipe cool down for about 15-20 minutes. Once you notice the pipe is very cool to the touch, go ahead and remove it from the jig, remove the caps and empty out the sand.

Once emptied, the pipe will retain the curved shape! =) The benefit of this is that the pipe will not put too much pressure on your framework and stud because it's already bent into shape.

Hi Efrain, how much did your material end up costing?

I ended up paying $300 USD for a 22.5' x 6.5' screen with grommets every 6" and all the necessary bungee cords. Screen was neatly packaged and Joe from Carl's place is a class act. Very nice person to deal with. Highly recommend!

[OmniAtlas]

Hi Efrain, that seems quite reasonable.

What projectors did you end up getting? Are you going with 2 or 3 projectors for 180+ viewing? 3 Might be out of the question for me because of costs -- I'm wondering if you can still get a good experience with 2x short-throw projectors.

It seems most of the builders on this board put the visuals last -- why is that? I place more emphasis on the visuals, and will probably buy the MIP after all that is in place.

[HondaCop]

Hi Efrain, that seems quite reasonable.

What projectors did you end up getting? Are you going with 2 or 3 projectors for 180+ viewing? 3 Might be out of the question for me because of costs -- I'm wondering if you can still get a good experience with 2x short-throw projectors.

It seems most of the builders on this board put the visuals last -- why is that? I place more emphasis on the visuals, and will probably buy the MIP after all that is in place.

Omni,

I went with the BenQ MW814ST, which is a 1280x800 resolution PJ with a throw ratio of .49

I currently have just 1 projector but I will be buying 2 more in a month or so for a 3 projector setup. My screen is a 225 degree setup with a radius of 5.5 feet, which gives me a screen size of 22' x 6'. The image itself will be 52" in height and 22 feet wide.

This projector has no zoom so I must set it up with a throw distance of 4'-3".

Actually, now that I am almost done with the visuals, I am heavily thinking of switching my build into a Cessna 172 instead of a B737. I want to really fly and enjoy the scenery instead of flying an airliner up in the Flight Levels and most of the time on AP.