Budget Projectors for a low-end Sim setup

[Remsengan]

I'm helping a friend construct a flight simulator. He's the aviation enthusiast, I'm the computer guy....together we may yet make a decent Sim experience.

Currently my issue is thus:

He wants to replace a CRT screen and a low-end projector(from staples) with 2 higher quality projectors, which is great but I only have a ~$300 budget per projector. It's frustrating because this really limits the quality but I'm not exactly well-versed in projectors but there's gotta be some options for him, right? Keep in mind, he doesn't have super-high standards because this is really a prototype. I would wager the max distance any projector would be from a screen is around 7 feet.

Sidenote- He also wants to know the Distance/Display Size of the projector he's buying so he can visualize where to place the projector when he get's around to upgrading it.

Anyways, I thought I'd ask for some help and hope for some insight. Thanks for your time and knowledge.

[NedHamilton]

Search this forum for "projector". There are dozens of threads about this including some very recent threads that have all the info you need.

[Remsengan]

My issue is that most(if not all) of these posts uses either projectors which are no longer manufactured or cost over $700. I realize he's taking a quality hit by limiting himself to $300 per projector but is it so bad that's it's not even worth it?

[Goldmember]

Most manufacturers have a tool to calculate display size at a given distance. Most cockpits need a short throw projector due to the limited space, thosw are more expensive. Maybe it's worth to consider 2 short throw units instead of 3 normal ones.