“Flyover Chicago: A Groundbreaking Multi-Sensory Experience of the Windy City”
Flyover Chicago offers an unprecedented multi-sensory journey utilizing drone technology, aerial photography, and personal narratives to reveal perspectives of the city never seen before.
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Flyover Chicago
This attraction accommodates 61 guests per session, immersing them in a simulated ‘flight’ over Chicago projected on a massive 20-meter spherical screen. Custom-engineered seats provide dynamic movements, enhanced by effects like wind, mist, and scent for a fully immersive experience.
FLUX::’s SPAT Revolution software manages a complex array of audio sources, dynamically spatializing sound through a specialized setup of JBL loudspeakers arranged in a nearly spherical configuration. Complementing this setup are Crown amplifiers, BSS loudspeaker processors, and control systems from Harman Professional, providing robust support and expertise.
Prior to the flight, guests are briefed in an immersive theater featuring a circular ‘lollipop’ screen and an elliptical wraparound screen. Sound designer Tim Archer programmed SPAT Revolution to orchestrate the soundtrack, played through a system designed by Kraftwerk Living Technologies.
Behind the screens, JBL COL800 column loudspeakers face outward within the lollipop screen, while JBL AC18/26 compact two-way loudspeakers support the wraparound screen. Low frequencies are handled by ceiling-mounted JBL ASB6115 subwoofers. Above the audience, a ring of 10 AC18/26 loudspeakers serves as the primary audio source for the composed music by Elliott Wheeler.
Guests experience the flight seated on one of three vertically stacked moving platforms, each providing a distinct audiovisual perspective. Archer notes the challenge of creating a unique mix for each plane to match the guests’ varying visual perspectives, enabled by SPAT Revolution and Encircled Audio’s immersive audio system.
Composer Wheeler delivered the music to Archer in a SPAT Revolution session, allowing precise movement through space to synchronize with visual elements. Philipp Hartl, responsible for the sound system design, addressed the challenge of providing consistent sound across moving platforms using 34 JBL AM7215-series loudspeakers and JBL ASB7128 subwoofers.
To ensure precise rear localization, JBL Control 23-1 ultracompact speakers are mounted on each seat back. The goal, according to project manager Sambell, is for the technology to seamlessly integrate into the experience, ensuring guests are fully immersed without distraction.
Flyover Chicago represents a pioneering blend of technology and sensory immersion, redefining the visitor experience through innovative audiovisual design.
