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BenQ Projectors Help 744 Experience Build a Fully Immersive Flight Simulator
- BenQ
- 2025-02-20
Overview
The Issue
744 Experience had spent three years restoring large sections of a Boeing 747-400. The final step of the project was sourcing projectors that were high quality and could work seamlessly together to handle a large immersive screen. The 744 Experience team were looking for a company that could offer a future proof product and reliable pre and after sales support.
The Solution
BenQ sent 744 Experience a number of different models to trial in order to find the best fit for their unique space. The quality and brightness offered by the LK953ST projectors stood out, alongside the product knowledge and support that the BenQ team offered.
The Result
Following the installation of the 3 x LK953ST projectors, many customers have commented on the quality of the visuals and how amazing they are. The quality of the set-up of the simulator and projectors is so realistic, that many previous and current commercial pilots travel to the location from all over the UK to experience ‘flying’ a Boeing 747-400 in this unique fully operational fixed base flight simulator.
Facts at a Glance
Year of Completion
2022
BenQ Solutions
• 3 x LK953ST projectors
Segment
Simulation
Location
Tattenhall, Cheshire, United Kingdom
Project
In July 2020, British Airways announced that they were retiring their fleet of Boeing 747-400 aircraft with immediate effect. Located near Tattenhall in Cheshire, the team at 744 Experience saw this as their chance to preserve a significant part of aviation history and spent the subsequent three years restoring two large sections from two aircraft. One of the final steps was to install 3 x LK953ST projectors that would transform the aircraft into a fully immersive 747-400 flight simulation experience.
Preserving a piece of aviation history
British Airways made the decision to retire their entire fleet of Boeing 747-400 aircraft in July 2020. The 744 Experience team had spent years flying onboard and wanted to preserve the history of what many deem an iconic aircraft.
After securing the aircraft sections in the Autumn of 2020, the team spent three years reverse engineering the technology in the cockpit and the lighting in the structure. Once restored to its original condition, the team then turned their focus to the task of getting the best projection visuals possible.
After speaking with specialist simulation companies, the team narrowed down the ideal product and contacted BenQ for sales and support.
Bringing the experience to life
Located near Tattenhall in Cheshire, the simulation room inside the hangar is blacked out with vehicle grade black vinyl and the huge immersive screen is 12m wide by 4.5m high. 744 Experience needed projectors that were not only high quality, but also extremely long lasting and capable of handling the unique shape of their simulation screen.
BenQ provided a number of different projector models for the team to test onsite, and the quality and longevity offered by the LK953ST meant that it was the winning projector.
Three of these were purchased and mounted above the aircraft to create a seamless projection experience through the cockpit windows. Initially mounted on scaffolding, the team quickly realised that a single millimetre of vibration was causing issues with the projection, leading to them re-mounting the projectors onto a welded steel frame.
Support every step of the way
With such a small margin for error, it was critical that the projectors functioned seamlessly at all times. When the team noticed that a pixel had suddenly appeared on the display, they realised that there was an issue with one of the units. This presented a problem, as any downtime of the projectors would lead to cancelled bookings and a loss of income.
Upon contacting BenQ, a loan unit was arranged and arrived onsite within 3 days. The original projector was fixed and returned 2 weeks later, leading to minimal downtime and the avoidance of any significant delays.
The 744 Experience team were impressed by the process and speed of dealing with the unit’s issue and were easily able to reach out to aftersales support to ask for help. They described the level of support from BenQ as outstanding.
Next level visuals
Since installation, the quality of the visuals is one of the main talking points among visitors. It’s described as being so immersive that it feels as though you’re actually flying and is considered the ‘most advanced and complete’ Boeing 747 fixed base flight simulator and upper deck experience in the UK.
The 744 Experience team have grand plans for the future of the experience and are currently in discussions with BenQ about continuing our partnership and working together on further exciting projects.
'Restoring and reverse engineering two large sections of British Airways 747-400’s into a fully operational Boeing 747 Flight Simulator experience was a once in a lifetime opportunity that presented itself to us in the depths of the Covid pandemic in Summer 2020. As the project is so unique we were looking for an immersive solution for the simulator visual. Upon first contacting the team at BenQ, we knew we had a partner that we could work with and who would understand the unique challenges that we faced. The LK953ST is a robust unit and produces incredible visual results. The quality of the product combined with the brilliant pre and post sales support from the BenQ team means that 744 Experience can highly recommend BenQ for any professional visual requirements. We are looking forward to continuing to work with BenQ as the 744 Experience develops further in the future.'
- Dan Chang, Director of 744 Experience
