Drive-In Layout Planner

The rows are laid out as arcs of bays around the screen, inside a viewing cone. Each row's usable width is the smaller of the cone at that distance and the field width, and cars are packed at the bay width. A cross lane after row 3 pushes the rows behind it back by 5 m.

Screen angle is the horizontal angle the picture subtends from a driver's eye in that row. Drive-ins typically run 8–20°: above 14° reads as excellent, 11–14° good, 8.5–11° acceptable, and below about 8.5° the picture starts to read small.

Sightlines are the real constraint, not space. On flat ground you cannot see over the car in front — you see between cars. Stagger every second row by half a bay and sort vehicles by height at the gate: hatchbacks and sedans in rows 1–2, SUVs and wagons mid-field, vans, utes and 4WDs at the back. Get the bottom of the image at least 2.5–3 m above ground; below that, rows 3 and beyond lose the lower third of the picture. A gentle grade of 1–2% rising away from the screen, or a natural slope, is worth more than any amount of extra spacing.

The field footprint shown is the parking area only. Add 5–6 m perimeter lanes for entry, exit, emergency access and marshalling, plus a projector position and box-office queuing space off-field.