Simworx joins forces with MoonRaker VFX, Stunts Unlimited and Headers & Volleys Entertainment to develop a high-octane new attraction concept for the Pegasus Flying Theatre.
Flying theatres have transformed how guests experience immersive media, giving audiences the sensation of soaring across landscapes, gliding through fantastical worlds, and travelling to places out of this world.
But what happens when the guest stops being a passenger and becomes part of the action?
That is the thinking behind STUNT CITY, a new attraction concept from Simworx, developed in collaboration with MoonRaker VFX, Stunts Unlimited and Headers & Volleys Entertainment (H&VE). Created specifically around the Simworx Pegasus Flying Theatre, STUNT CITY imagines a flying attraction driven not by sightseeing, but by the visceral energy of a cinematic stunt sequence.
Motorbikes. Cars. Helicopters. Explosions. Near misses. High-speed chases. And, at the centre of it all, the rider.
STUNT CITY is currently a concept being taken to market. Simworx and its creative partners are presenting a vision for what the Pegasus platform can become and inviting operators and developers to explore the opportunity.
From flying over the action to flying through it
At the heart of STUNT CITY is a simple creative proposition: make the guest feel as though they have stepped into the climactic stunt sequence of a blockbuster action film. Rather than observing events from a distance, riders become active participants in an unfolding adventure.
Simworx’s Pegasus Flying Theatre provides the physical foundation for that experience.
Guests ride astride individual moulded motion seats, while an integrated restraint system secures them in position. Each seat uses 3DOF motion, synchronised precisely with the on-screen media. As the experience begins, the vehicles can lean riders forward towards the immersive projection surface, intensifying the action as the guest enters the world on screen.
For STUNT CITY, that movement becomes the basis for something much more action-driven: weaving through traffic, accelerating alongside stunt riders, escaping explosions and being thrown directly into the starring role.
It takes the sensation of flight and gives it the attitude of a stunt show.
A collaboration built around spectacle
STUNT CITY brings together Simworx, MoonRaker VFX, Stunts Unlimited and Headers & Volleys Entertainment, combining different areas of attraction and entertainment expertise around one concept.
The result is intended to feel less like a conventional ride film and more like a piece of cinematic entertainment that guests physically enter.
The Pegasus platform has been designed around that integration. Its motion can be synchronised with the media, while surround sound and optional environmental effects extend the action into the physical theatre.
For STUNT CITY, the ambition is to use that toolset to create moments that guests instinctively respond to: ducking away from danger, bracing for impact and feeling the rush of acceleration as the action moves from the screen into the auditorium.
More than a screen
The concept can incorporate a range of optional in-theatre effects, including wind, water spray, aroma and special-effects lighting, allowing individual moments within the film to have a corresponding physical impact on the audience.
Imagine feeling a blast of air as a vehicle races past. A burst of heat and light as an explosion fills the screen. Atmospheric effects as riders move from one environment to another.
The proposed attraction also incorporates professional surround sound and 4K projection, with higher-resolution options available.
A dome-screen configuration is another available option within the concept, further extending the visual field and increasing the sense of immersion.
Designed around the Pegasus Flying Theatre
One of the strengths of Pegasus is its flexibility. The system can be configured using multiple Pegasus units and arranged across multiple levels, allowing Simworx to respond to different capacities, available footprints and building constraints.
The STUNT CITY design shown in the current concept presentation explores a 60-seat attraction, arranged as three levels of 20 Pegasus units.
For operators, the 60-seat format also provides meaningful capacity. Depending on film duration, the concept calculations show potential hourly throughput ranging from 450 riders with a six-minute show to 720 riders with a three-minute show, based on a two-minute load/unload period.
Those figures illustrate how the platform can combine a highly individual ride experience with the throughput required of a major attraction.
The experience begins before riders take their seats
STUNT CITY has also been conceived as more than the ride film itself. The concept explores a preshow environment lined with dramatic imagery from the attraction’s world, establishing the visual language and building anticipation before guests reach the loading area.
From there, riders encounter the Pegasus seats before entering the main show environment. This progression creates the opportunity to turn the queue and preshow into a piece of storytelling in their own right: introducing the world, establishing the mission and preparing guests for their role in the action.
In the core Pegasus experience, riders can initially board without seeing the main screen. Shutter doors then open to expose the immersive projection surface, with carefully timed theatrical lighting and audio helping preserve the illusion. For an attraction built around surprise and spectacle, that reveal can become part of the drama.
Built for different destinations
Although the current STUNT CITY imagery demonstrates one possible flagship configuration, Pegasus has been developed as a scalable platform. The Simworx team can also explore alternative formats, including individual Pegasus Pods and a mobile Pegasus solution.
Pegasus Pods allow the motion technology to be incorporated into individual immersive enclosures. The pods can be themed and adapted around different stories, IP or spaces, providing another route for operators looking for a smaller or more modular attraction format.
The mobile concept takes Pegasus in another direction again, housing the experience within a transportable attraction designed for travelling operators and temporary destinations. The presentation proposes four shows of five riders within the trailer, each with its own screen, alongside surround sound, 4K projection and optional 4D effects.
It demonstrates how the underlying platform can support different commercial and operational models while retaining the central idea of a personal, motion-driven immersive experience.
An original concept with room to grow
STUNT CITY has been conceived as an original attraction concept rather than an announced installation. Its world can be developed around the requirements of a particular operator or destination. The story, characters, architecture, media and physical experience can evolve as the project moves from initial creative concept into attraction design and production.
And because Pegasus itself can be themed around virtually any storyline, the hardware provides a flexible base on which that creative development can take place. STUNT CITY takes that versatility and applies it to a very specific genre: the action blockbuster.
Taking STUNT CITY to IAAPA
STUNT CITY represents the kind of project Simworx is keen to discuss with the industry at IAAPA: an attraction concept with a strong creative identity, an established ride platform, and the flexibility to be developed around the needs of a future operator.
For operators, developers and entertainment destinations looking for a signature media-based attraction, STUNT CITY provides a starting point for a much bigger conversation: how do you combine the spectacle audiences expect from film and television with an experience that can only exist in a physical attraction?
STUNT CITY. BE THE HERO.
To discuss the STUNT CITY concept or the Pegasus Flying Theatre with Simworx at IAAPA, contact the team at sales@simworx.co.uk.