DavePilot

an INTERIM UPDATE on the "Voting" on What Improvements Do You Want in the CRUZ Aircraft" Thanks much to all the SCFLIER Forum members who are providing input. The Ranked List of Wanted CRUZ Improvements, as of 7-16-2016 is copied below. Some changes in the top ranked items, and as more people provide input, there are several "Ties" with the same total points received for that Item. If you still haven't voted, your vote can influence the Ranking !!! INTERIM Voting Status as of Saturday July 16, 2016. See Pic attached below. the Voting ends on Monday July 18, 2016.

with "some" of the precincts reporting, as of 7/14/16, here is a quick status of Priority Ranking Votes received to date. Note that there are two "ties" currently, on the first place ranking, and on the 4th place ranking. 1st Place -- Tie LOA to Allow Dynon AOA Probe to feed D-100 and SkyView, and also Improved Inside Cockpit Canopy Release Handle 2nd Place -- Improved Cruise Speed and Climb Performance 3rd Place -- Improved Engine Cooling on the Ground in Hot Temp Climates 4th Place -- Tie Adjustable (shorter) length Control Stick, and also A Cost Effective Pathway for Retrofit of Older Aircraft 5th Place -- Move 12 VDC Accessory Plug and USB Port locations Honorable Mention (lots of interest - Priority) LOAs for ADS-B OUT Equipment for FAA 2020 Mandate, espec Non SkyView and Older Config CRUZ If you want to influence the final priority list ranking, now is the time to vote. Each person gets to Vote on 5 items. The Top Ranked item on each persons list gets 5 points, the 2nd highest ranked item on each person's list gets 4 points, and so on down to 1 point for the fifth ranked item on each person's Vote. The highest score overall, cumulative total score from all the voter's inputs, gets the highest overall Number 1 priority ranking. Note that everything, including ALL items 1 thru 22, will be sent forward to US Sport Aircraft to carry the flag forward to Czech Sport Aircraft.

Only three days left to Enter your Votes for the Top 5 Items in What Improvements Would you Like to See in the CRUZ Aircraft !!! THANKS to ALL that have provided "Votes" already ! If you haven't yet voted, send me an email at SCFLIERADM@yahoo.com with your list of Top 5 Items in Priority Order. example 20, 16, 6, 2, 15

Only three days left to Enter your Votes for the Top 5 Items in What Improvements Would you Like to See in the CRUZ Aircraft !!! THANKS to ALL that have provided "Votes" already ! If you haven't yet voted, send me an email at SCFLIERADM@yahoo.com with your list of Top 5 Items in Priority Order.

Only one week left to get your Votes in on "What Improvements Do You Want in the CRUZ aircraft" Everyone on the SCFLIER FORUM should vote ! New members, Senior Members, Pilots, CRUZ Owners, student Pilots, potential new CRUZ owners... .... Everyone except US SPORT AIRCRAFT or CSA employees.... Pick your TOP 5 five items and list them in priority order, E mail to scflieradm@yahoo.com. See "Downloads", "Other downloads" for the list of candidate improvement items. Note that ADS-B OUT/IN is already on everyone's and US Sport Aircraft / CSA watch list. Example of a "vote" 20, 16, 6, 2, 15. Item 20 is "most wanted" for this example. That's it ! Email your votes to me before Monday July 18, 2016

The "VOTES" are FLYING in to me by email at: Scflieradm@yahoo.com It's easy Two ways to vote: 1) send me an email with five item numbers from the downloaded "voting form" listed in your TOP 5 priority order Example. 15, 1, 6, 9, 13 Or 2) download the improvements voting form at "downloads, other downloads", and put your TOP 5 priority order over in the right column, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Next to the items you like best with "Most wanted" as number 1. Then send the updated form back to me via email. Voting will continue until July 18, and I'll publish the results about a week later. THANK YOU Pilots, Owners, Operators, potential airplane buyers ..... for providing the VOICE of the SportCruiser / PS-28 / Piper Sport CRUZ CUSTOMER !!! ........ Tick tock Tick tock Only two weeks left before the polls close on Monday July 18, 2016. If you don't vote, your ideas don't get counted.....

The "VOTES" are coming in to me by email at Scflieradm@yahoo.com It's easy Two ways to vote: 1) send me an email with five item numbers from the downloaded voting form listed in your TOP 5 priority order Example. 15, 1, 6, 9, 13 Or 2) download the improvements voting form at "downloads, other downloads", and put your TOP 5 priority order over in the right column, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Next to the items you like best with "Most wanted" as number 1. Then send the updated form back to me via email. Voting will continue until July 18, and I'll publish the results about a week later. THANK YOU for providing the VOICE OF THE CRUZ CUSTOMER !!!

Understand your point, But some may be interested in where "interior upgrades" like "better armrests" fit into the overall ranking and SC community interest.... If folks think that "no vote is required on better armrests", I am ok with it. An easy out is for no one to input a vote on item 7 "better armrests". And of course if only one person votes for "better armrests", it will go to the bottom part of the ranked list. I tried hard to not "cancel" anyone's idea, and ALL ideas will get submitted for review by US SPORT and CAW. Some ideas were variations of the same idea, for example SEVERAL design choices on the "improved canopy latch", so I covered these variations over in the comments section of the file. the voting process includes ONLY voting for your TOP 5 most wanted items... Personally, I wouldn't spend $800 for two armrests....no matter HOW GOOD they are.... D

NOW is the time to enter your VOTES for Improvements that you would like to see in the SportCruiser, PS-28, and Piper Sport aircraft !!! These can be Improvements to new production SportCruisers, or Upgrades (with an LOA if required) to used SC, PS-28, and PiperSport variants of the CRUZ aircraft type. There is a list available for your review on the DOWNLOADS tab, under "OTHER DOWNLOADS". see attached pic below. Two ways to vote: 1) Download the CRUZ IMPROVEMENTS VOTING form, and enter the numbers 1,2,3,4,5 over in the right column for your TOP 5 Most Wanted Items, and email the form back to me at SCFLIERADM@yahoo.com Or 2) simply Send me a list of your TOP 5 Item numbers like 7,1,5,15,18: As an example... Item 7 Better Armrests (the most wanted item by you) Item 1 AOA displayed on Dynons (second most wanted by you) Item 5 Better inside ventilation (third most wanted by you) Item 15 Improved Cruise Speed and Climb Performance (fourth most wanted by you) and Item 18 Reliability Improvement to the Rotax Ducati Voltage Rectifier / Regulator (still wanted by you, but fifth on YOUR priority list of Top 5 Ideas). Please only vote for your Top 5 Most Wanted Improvement Items. Send me your votes to SCFLIERADM@yahoo.com for the Top 5 CRUZ IMPROVEMENTS by July 18, 2016 Thanks for participating as the VOICE OF THE CUSTOMER !!! The SportCruiser Is an awesome aircraft ! But our ideas can influence CAW to make it even better !!! Exciting Video to get you in the mood for VOTING !

I considered using a poll but decided against it because it tends to "feed on itself" with the real time feedback. Most folks want to "pick a winner" and "be on the winning team".... My concern with a real time poll is that it may skew the results to initial input items from a few early poll entries, and folks won't vote on other items if "their favorite items" aren't "winning" in the poll. If you look at the existing polls already out there, There are a VERY LOW number of people who participate. I chose the "secret ballot" email ( to SCFLIERADM@yahoo.com) approach in an attempt to get more input and folk's unbiased opinions on "What Improvements do they want". The workload of managing and calculating the "scores" is no problem for me. In my opinion, We can all consider whether the "voice of the CRUZ customer" will have ANY impact on the airplane manufacturer's plans for improvements. I believe over 200 CRUZ aircraft OWNERS/PILOTS in the USA and another 300 plus in Europe and WORLDWIDE could be a strong voice to consider re "What Improvements would you Like", especially if one is considering buying a competitor LSA, be it a Bristell, CT, ....., or even Upgrading from say a 2010 Piper Sport to a new 2016 Sport Cruiser with SkyView. CAW makes money selling new airplanes. Of course there is money to be made upgrading and supporting existing used airplanes, but that is a different bucket of money. And The problem with an LSA is the manufacturer has a stranglehold on most modifications because a Letter of Authorization (LOA) is required for almost all significant changes. So it is possible probable ?? that pressure from existing customers might produce over time more LOAs. But I understand the risk / reward calculation of CAW if any significant flight test is required to feed an LOA. A balancing act. If the airplanes are selling well, why change? The forum readership and participation is generally fairly slow and only a few folks participate regularly. Just as a data point, At this time, I have ZERO "votes" entered. Let's give it a week or so and see if any votes are sent to me. My objective is simply to find out what existing Owners /Pilotsof of the CRUZ think needs improving. I have nothing to gain from whatever answers come out of the "votes" Anyone else out there in SCFLIER land have any thoughts?

Of course ALL the ideas in our list will be sent forward. The "voting" is just to prioritize some of the "most wanted ideas" at the top of the list. D

Voting File of our "CRUZ Improvements" - I'll put this on the DOWNLOAD tab -- Other Downloads -- of the SCFLIER Forum. Can't upload it here since it is not a picture. please use the right most column of the "Voting File" if you want to enter your votes on this file for emailing a copy to me at SCFLIERADM@yahoo.com Or simply reference the Item Number in the left column, in a Ranked List typed email to me. For example, your Top 5 Items may be 7,1,5,15,18: Item 7 Better Armrests (most wanted item by you) Item 1 AOA displayed on Dynons (second most wanted by you) Item 5 Better inside ventilation (third most wanted by you) Item 15 Improved Cruise Speed and Climb Performance (fourth most wanted by you) and Item 18 Reliability Improvement to the Rotax Ducati Voltage Rectifier / Regulator (still wanted by you, but fifth on YOUR priority list of Top 5 Ideas). Please only vote for your Top 5 Most Wanted Improvement Items. My Brain can't handle the math required to compile a bunch of 22 item ranked lists........ Tilting at Windmills.....

I have compiled our LIST of DESIRED CRUZ Improvements, as of 6/27/2016. See attached pics, and in the next post I will attach the "Voting Form" electronic file if you prefer looking at that. The "voting process" that I propose to provide an overall SCFLIER Ranked List with "Most Wanted" Improvement at the top of the list is as follows: 1) Each voter sends me an email at SCFLIERADM@yahoo.com this email should contain YOUR "Top Five" Improvement ideas, with Number 1 being the Most Wanted by you, then 2, 3, 4, 5. Number 5 is the lowest wanted item on Your list of Top 5 Cool Improvement Ideas for the CRUZ. You can provide your Top Five Item list by putting a 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 in the "Voting Form" File right column and emailing that file to me, or just send me a typed email with Five Items in Your Top 5 Order. (I believe it would be too painful for each person to provide a ranked list of all 22 proposed items.) 2) I will allow two weeks for voting. 3) I will compile the email "Votes", and generate a ranked list, using the following scoring system: the "Number 1 Most Wanted Item" on your list gets a score of 5 points for that Item. the "Number 2 Wanted Item" on your list gets a score of 4 points. the "Number 3 Wanted Item" gets a score of 3 points. the "Number 4 Wanted Item" gets a score of 2 points. the "Number 5 Least Wanted Item" on your list gets a score of 1 point. 4) I will then generate the total Ranked list, with the item getting the most total score from everyones voting, being our combined Number 1 MOST Wanted Improvement Item by the SCFLIER Forum, and so on down to the bottom (least voted on - least points) item on the list. My assumption is that every item will get at least ONE vote, because someone suggested it. 5) I will present the Voting Results in about three weeks. at this point, we can have friendly discussions, Constructive Criticism, etc., etc. 6) After the rumbling reduces to a dull roar, I will present our list to Patrick Arnzen at US Sport Aircraft, and he can pass it on to the Manufacturer at CAW for consideration. 7) I believe the "secret ballot" system of Voters sending me an email with their individual "Top 5 Items List" is best. We tend to provide "Type A Pilot Personality" Comments on EVERYTHING on this Forum, and a Secret Ballot may allow more folks to be comfortable "Voting". Onward and Upward D

We have occasionally given Airplane rides to Mobility challenged folks. we have found that the SPORTY's AVIATION STEP STOOL (see pic) is the PERFECT HEIGHT to provide a step up whilst holding on to the aircraft rollbar and then the top step of the stool provides that extra height to provide an EASY step onto the Wing Walk area, avoiding the flap entirely. The Sporty's Two Step Stool really works well, and fits right up against the existing CRUZ "stirrup" step thingie, and allows folks with perhaps some mobility issues to EASILY climb up into our cockpit without stepping on the flap. Also, the Sportys Step Stool is very light, and can be easily carried in the baggage compartment behind the seats - in flight. And, you can even tie a rope onto it, and after say a disabled person gets up into the aircraft, one can use the rope to carefully hoist the step stool up into easy reach for placement into the rear baggage area. Might be worth a look. D

Ouch Not sure that issue can be addressed 100% with an aircraft change. Maybe you need better students ?

I am compiling all the "What Improvements Would You Like for CRUZ aircraft" into one list and will post here soon. After that list is available we will "vote" to generate a ranked list. I'll provide the voting process later this week. Stay tuned.

A new forum section for US SPORT AIRCRAFT to provide useful information to the SCFLIER COMMUNITY and CRUZ aircraft owners and Pilots.

Awesome. I have a friend with an RV-6a, and his canopy locks with a simple rotating handle like that pic. Very simple, elegant, functional design. I believe a second locking canopy handle like this could be ADDED to existing aircraft, or perhaps be the ONLY canopy latch in future production aircraft. It would be up to CAW to work details, but this might solve the concerns and "what would you like" ideas re the CRUZ canopy potentially opening in flight.

pic of the "RV" rotating ADDITIONAL Canopy Lock up by the roll bar. Accessible from the outside also

Although the desired FUNCTION is a more secure, easy to use Canopy Lock That prevents inadvertent opening in flight And we are not "designing" the new canopy lock/restraint, this idea seems to be different from others suggested, as I believe the proposal is to ADD an additional locking device up by the "roll bar" of the fuselage that can be turned 90 degrees to secure the canopy when it is down and latched. I.e. This idea has a NEW FUNCTION - a separate locking mechanism up by the roll bar. Some RV designs extend this locking mechanism idea on the OUTSIDE of the aircraft with a connected lever that swings along with (connected to) the one inside the aircraft so emergency personnel can turn it on the ground, although the last step before a crash landing is OPEN THE CANOPY.... Just to make sure I am summarizing this "additional canopy latch idea" correctly, I have attached a picture from a Google search of "RV AIRCRAFT CANOPY LATCHES". There are several options, including one available from Aircraft Sprice that has a key lock device for "theft security" while on the ground parked. I don't think we need an"theft security" locking device, as the existing canopy handle over by the wing step area already has a key lock. Crusader16--Please comment if this 90 degree swinging handle lock up by the roll bar is what you are suggesting. See picture. Thanks.

awesome - thanks for the cool idea ! can I get that installed in the next hour ? we are fixing to get out in the Dallas Heat, sit on the taxiway for awhile, and then go fly !

Deadline approaching for final CUSTOMER/PILOT/OWNER INPUT Into "What Improvements would you like to see in the Sport Cruiser / Piper Sport CRUZ aircraft" ! All improvement ideas must be submitted by Monday June 27, 2016. Next week I will provide details on how we will rank the ideas with "Most Wanted" at the top of the list. If you are a CRUZ aircraft owner, Pilot, Student Pilot Training in a CRUZ, or even someone considering buying one (or comparing to a competitor LSA) and you have thought....I wish the Sport Cruiser / Piper Sport had ....... Now is the time to get your idea submitted! Thanks to all who have already submitted ideas. The Deadline is Monday June 27

Excellent additional ideas added to our "list" of desired improvements to the CRUZ aircraft. !!! Remember -- all ideas should be submitted by Monday June 27. At that time, I will post the process for "voting" so that we can generate a ranked list from "most wanted" to "Still wanted, but not as many votes and not the highest priority for the group". Thanks everyone for providing inputs. I expect there are several folks who have not provided an idea yet. This is a "no judgment zone", so please submit your ideas....we are brainstorming here, not designing the final answer....it's up to CAW and US SPORT to make it producible, effective, a solid design, and AFFORDABLE. Finally, please no input from US Sport or CSA employees - I am sure they are already working on improvement ideas, and we don't want to skew the ranking to things they are working on already and want to sell....

A new idea for "code S" Safety Improvements An improved safety belt harness with an extra belt Inbetween the legs to prevent submarining under the lap belt. (5 pt harness). Also, is there any interest from the community in air bag equipped safety belts ? Another new category, with perhaps a new "Code R" for Reliability improvements.... 1) longer lasting, more reliable Voltage regulators ? 2) longer lasting, more reliable Exhaust Gas Temperature sensors ? 3) more rugged, more reliable starter clutch ? Of course this is a Rotax Idea, not directly under CAW control...

Comment from your new ADMIN - June 3, 2016 note that any Admin posts placed on the site BEFORE Mid May of 2016 were made by the prior Admin, the starter of it all, our FlightLead Sierra Charlie, who of course is still here in the Member Group. The "system" now tags all Admin posts with my ("DavidKarenVV ") picture, because it only knows of the current admin. Just FYI In case anyone is wondering what happened to the Admin posts with Sierra Charlie's picture associated with it...... Of course posts AFTER Mid May 2016 tagged with "Admin" we're in fact made by your new Admin, (me), and I am also interested in site security and reducing spam.