DavePilot

Thanks to everyone.....Some great "What Improvements Would You Like for the CRUZ Aircraft" ! in an attempt to structure our wish list, I have heard about five categories that I will group ideas into in a Working List: "Code A" for Avionics improvements "Code C" for Creature Comforts improvements "Code F" for flying capabilities improvements "Code S" for Safety feature improvements "Code L" for Looks cool, as in Airplane Ramp appeal, ...Paint Ideas, Graphics, or any other ideas that are just Cool, but don't necessarily make the airplane fly better, safer, easier, or with new Avionics WOW features. Of course there may be some overlap, with AOA providing new Avionics displays and also Safety improvements for example. And the categories don't matter much other than to maybe get some more ideas coming. Here is the summary list of Improvements so far - comments welcome. I didn't include the on-the-ground "canopy exit hammer", because we can buy that small hammer lots of places and put it in our "possibles" bag.. in the "Code A" Avionics Improvements category 1) A Letter of Authorization (LOA) to allow use of the Dynon Angle of Attack AOA sensing Pitot tube, and to add an external static port, to feed AOA into existing Dynon D-100 and Skyview display's SW capabilities. in both the "Code C" Creature comforts and the "Code L" Looks Cool categories 1) A sliding canopy option - ramp appeal, cooler in the summer, and more 2) a small 1-2 mm diameter overhead red night light for Night VFR use, located near the headset hangar in the "Code F" Flying capabilities category: 1) An adjustable length control stick - a shorter control stick 2) A tail dragger landing gear option, like the Bristell LSA offers in the "Code S" Safety category 1) an improved in-cockpit canopy release handle, with some kind of guard/security restraint available for use inside, while retaining the ability of outside emergency personnel to open the canopy release if the landing is made with canopy still latched. (AOA display might fit here also in "S" Safety, ....wondering if there are any other "Safety" Improvement ideas out there?) I am sure there are lots more great Wish List Improvement ideas out there....maybe even some new categories. Ground rules 1) you don't have to "design it", that's someone else's job. Just list CRUZ ideas for improvement. Think "Functional Improvement", WHAT do you want, not necessarily HOW does it work. 2) sure, Cost is always a factor, but the Improvement Idea list should come first, and maybe CAW or US Sport has ways to make it less expensive, clever, robust, producible, and still AWESOME. 3) In order to prevent this "Improvement List Generation" string from going on forever, let's try and get all ideas in by Monday June 27. More input is better ! 4) Please -- no Insider IMPROVEMENT idea Information allowed from US SPORT or CAW -- they might already have a list of cool improvements they are working on.... There is no better group to come up with some cool Improvement Ideas than the Pilots that fly CRUZ aircraft already!!! Let's plan on "voting" to determine a ranked list of Improvement Ideas starting the week of June 27. D

Thanks SCFLIER members for some COOL CRUZ AIRCRAFT IMPROVEMENT IDEAS ! and for others in the SCFLIER community who have not yet added to the CRUZ IMPROVEMENTS WISH LIST, we, as CUSTOMER PILOTs of this fine aircraft .... WE Do not have to DESIGN the final answer now. All we need now is a list of IMPROVEMENTS DESIRED. once we get the IMPROVEMENT LIST compiled , Then we can "VOTE" Later, to develop a priority list with "most desired" improvement at the top of the list, followed by "second most desired", etc. It is up to the Aircraft Manufacturer (or avionics manufacturer or ....adjustable length control stick Manufacturer, ....) to DESIGN the FUNCTIONAL Improvement, so let's not worry about the DESIGN details now. Comments are great. If we concentrate now on the new Function desired, that will be enough to get the IMPROVEMENT List going. And while cost will certainly be a factor at some point, right now the idea is to brainstorm some cool IMPROVEMENTS. someone else can figure out how to make them Clever, producible, well engineered, affordable designs. Thanks all, and I expect there are more cool CRUZ IMPROVEMENT ideas out there, even though the CRUZ is NEARLY PERFECT NOW and ALREADY the BEST LSA out there already...... PS -- no Insider IMPROVEMENT idea Information allowed from US SPORT or CSA please....

An Idea for improving the CRUZ aircraft: A Letter of Authorization allowing a Pitot tube upgrade to provide measurement and display of Angle of Attack (AOA) on an existing Dynon Cockpit display. One way to do this would be to use the available Dynon AOA measuring Pitot tube upgrade hardware and this new AOA Pitot tube would sense AOA measurements and send them to existing software capabilities already available in the Dynon D100 and Skyview avionics. The Dynon AOA probe provides for an in-flight calibration process by performing a series of Stall maneuvers, and then AOA is available on the Dynon displays for use all the time while flying.

From your friendly Admin. I would like to get some ideas going on potential Improvements and Upgrades for the Piper Sport / Sport Cruiser / PS-28 aircraft. These could be new enhancements to be found in entirely new CRUZ aircraft, or Upgrades to existing aircraft (with a LOA --letter of authorization ) available from the manufacturer. The topic list is wide open from new avionics, new Creature comforts, new flying capabilities, new graphics or paint options, and on and on. My idea is that we would do this "Improvement Idea List" on the forum in a two step process: 1) over the next month or two, we would gather inputs from everyone* as to "what you would like" for the CRUZ aircraft 2) we would then Rank the ideas using a Forum Poll of all the topics and prioritize the ideas from "most wanted" to "least wanted" in a Ranked List from the SCFLIER OWNER OPERATOR community. I think the improvement ideas should be considered independent of potential future cost, at least at the beginning. And, all ideas must fit under the category of still meeting the Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) rules. So that would rule out adding JATO bottles for super short takeoff since the JATO bottles would exceed the 1320 lbs weight limit and not be a "single engine". And a modification for retractable landing gear or two additional passenger seats would not fit in the LSA category. Other than that, the sky is the limit. I'll start the "idea" list with an idea of my own, and others can throw in their ideas, and after we get a large number of ideas, I will turn it into a FORUM POLL so we all* can each "vote" on our top three ideas and that will allow us to generate a ranked list. * One comment - we do have some "manufacturer CSA" and "sales/support - US SPORT AIRCRAFT" members on the SCFLIER forum, so I think it best that these "insiders" don't provide input based on their inside knowledge... The idea list should be generated from owners and operators of the aircraft, or also folks that are considering buying a new CRUZ aircraft, or perhaps considering a competitor to the CRUZ that may have a feature NOT currently available on the CRUZ aircraft. I have the ability to control the inputs based on who is submitting them so please follow this comment so that the ideas come from the Owners/Operators and not the CSA Manufacturer or US SPORT AIRCRAFT employees. Please limit your ideas to "somewhat reasonable" ideas. I.e., no ejection seats or USN carrier capable structures...remember the (USA FAA) LSA rules when you submit ideas....

THANK YOU Dave Fleming for creating the SC FLIER blog. A Job well done ! May you have strong tailwinds and clear skies ! Dave

Thanks Ian for the encouragement and positive words. I hope that my "job" running the administrative aspects of the SC FLIER FORUM can help all members and maintain a great place to exchange ideas on many topics related to the Sport Cruiser / Piper Sport aircraft. I really enjoy all the information that is exchanged regularly on this blog, and have learned a lot from the friendly discussion contained here on many topics. I look forward to working together with current and hopefully more NEW members to continue the enthusiasm and excitement for our flying of the CRUZ aircraft. I look forward to working with Dave F, our excellent Flight Lead and the one who started it all, to make this a smooth transition. I encourage any suggestions and comments as we continue using the SC FLIER FORUM to increase EXCITEMENT about the great CRUZ LSA AIRCRAFT.

It would be a bad thing for the SC FLIER BLOG to stop operating. While I certainly understand the priorities between grandchildren and workload, I hope there is a way for the information exchange to continue in the SCFLIER blog without your leadership. And, while the SC FLIER blog is not a VANs Air Force, maybe over time it will continue to grow as the CRUZ sales continue strong in the LSA marketplace. Best wishes and strong tailwinds in your future. BRAVO ZULU for a job well done ! D