New GC Hawk build

[Jwm]

Hi all. Previous frustrated Flightscope Xi+ user moving to a new house in September. After years of trying to fit a sim into awkward places we are moving to a house with a perfect space. It oddly enough has an indoor basketball court with 17 foot ceilings. The bottom of the windows on 2 walls are at 10 feet. I was thinking Trackman however when Bouxy's GCHawk went on the classifieds I jumped at it. I thought it would be great for the kids and I wouldn't have to worry about having to hide the Trackman every time I'm done with it, the soccer integration, etc. However, the tricky part will be the extra high ceilings and the weight of the Hawk. Carl's Pro enclosure can handle the weight (maybe not the impact vibrations) but I'm thinking about just building a canopy right at 10 feet.

The entire room is 50Lx20Wx17H. I would like to keep plenty of space for the basketball hoop as well. I think carving out 16Lx20W on the opposite end of the hoop would be perfect. Any thoughts on a canopy design, with a support post or maybe suspension cables? Another thought I had was to just do a regular enclosure and suspend the Hawk from the ceiling with threaded pipe to the mount. I've been worrying so much about getting high ceilings that I've never thought about shortening them. Here is my amateur sketchup first draft.

[Jwm]

I will take some pictures tonight but I went with the 36 5mm. On top of foam play tiles it is almost flush with my CCE hitting mats and very similar in color. Very happy with that. It is heavy enough that you don't have to glue and can run around and it won't move. Not happy with how loud the Carl's premium screen is so far but I knew I'd have to add acoustic tiles to my space so we'll see how it all ends up.

[mgent]

JWM - what did you end up doing for acoustics in your sport court? I would imagine at a minimum you would need absorption tiles covering the wall behind the screen... Did you also think about sound absorbing curtains for the sides (on a track so you can push out of the way for bball)? Or possibly even hanging panels above the screen (would imagine that could be challenging with 17' ceilings without some framing)? I'm about to start a garage build, but thinking about acoustics as well, as a garage is not exactly acoustics friendly...

[Jwm]

I'm slacking on the updates. I will post some updates and pictures tonight. The previous homeowner left some acoustic tiles behind that are styrofoam. I haven't even put them up yet. The sound is not unbearable at the moment. The turf and the screen does enough to stop some bounce, but basically you want something on at least one of each parallel surface to stop sound from bouncing. I can't hang curtains from the ceiling due to the lighting (recessed light fixtures.)

[Jwm]

Couple of pics of version 1 and the acoustic tile on top and left side. I got a harbor freight tool cart to hold my laptop, cameras, balls, swing trainers, etc. The top folds closed and can lock (kids!). So far so good. TV on the right is a giant plasma left behind by previous owners that must be 10 years old but is perfect for FSX 2nd monitor duty. Basketball hoop is directly behind and the sim doesn’t interfere at all (room is 50ft end to end.) Everybody’s happy!

[Dax]

Sim looks great! I am going to send you a picture of a gym panel that I found that is supposed to absorb/deaden the sound in gyms. I am trying f to see if it might be a good wall panel for sim use as it has a fairly sturdy front and also a thick foam insert. Given that it is just meant to deflect a shot, I think it might be good. The problem is it is fairly heavy, but might be something worth exploring.

[chicub15]

What an awesome space! How do you like the GCHawk? I am about to pull the trigger on a GCQuad to upgrade from Mevo+ but the Hawk looks intriguing as well.

[Dax]

Someone posted a used one for sale just earlier this week.

[Jwm]

Hawk might be a little touchier and miss more clubhead swings than a floor based unit. However it’s a no brainer if you have kids or share the space. I would have had to set up the Quad or Trackman every time I wanted to play because my kids are always down there kicking and throwing balls as they should in a big fun gym room. I also got the soccer add on which is fun. I can go from putting the kids to bed to hitting with clubhead data and swing cams in 5 minutes max. Turn on projector, Hawk, open laptop, open FSX, ready to go. I had a Flightscope in my garage and my nature is just tired enough and lazy enough that at the end of a long day the thought of aligning that thing and doing all that everytime cut my usage a lot. So this setup makes a lot of sense if you have to worry about a floor unit.