Its not really magic, though it will create an illusion.

I've just completed the PVC frame for my flight simulator cockpit.

Its my own design, pictures are here:

http://gallery.me.com/jeffpk/100019

The curved front of the "canopy" area will be covered with wax paper, which is actually a great cheap do-it-yourself rear-projection material. The FLight simulator video will be projected onto that. (Rear projecting onto a concave dome is an old trick to do poor-man's image-warping for a semi-surround surface without curved reflectors or image warping software. The sides are further from the projector then the center resulting in a larger image which makes the peripheral vision think of it as "closer".)

The pvc below the window area in front of the seat (may be hard to see in these pictures) will get a plexiglass sheet on top and become a shelf to hold flight instruments, keyboard, etc. The computer will go in the area behind the seat in the back, along with a sub woofer. 4 way satellite speakers will get attached to the PVC at appropriate places.

The rest of the cockpit will be covered with a blackout felt cover that will make it dark inside and give the outside a more finished look. (Im thinking of painting something silly like "F26" and a plane "name" on the felt cover )

That looks like fun! I used a small entertainment hutch to hold the 19" LCD screen and frensel lens and hold the computer. Use a joy stick and rudder peddles. Picked up a chair from the salavage yard wreck. Use a dedicated tower and MS2004 Flight Simulator.

I like the idea of enclosing the simpit for less distraction.

As A C-131 flight engineer in the Navy, I had to qual through the Convair reps, in NY, the only simulator of its kind left. Two weeks of fun.
Later, in '84, I became turn qualed for the FA-18 for maintanance runups. Learned in the worlds biggest video game, the simulator in NAS Lemoore. Twin dome, 360 degree screen, hydralics in the bucket for G force simulation. Everything you could want for your token. The only difference between the simulator and the real bird was the noise and vibration. When I qualed, they operator let me take it up for a spin. Started at 5000, crashed and burned in 3 minutes. What a kick!

MP

I'm envious The only real sim beds I've ever had the chance to experience have been pre-scripted rides. (the two best scripts in the us IMHO are Star Tours and the now defunct Star Trek Experience)

my chair is a thunderseat. For a static sim it's not a bad effect... I've found it particularly convincing in heli-sims