Gadgets

When planning our plane we did some brainstorming on what we could put into it as additional features or gadgets. Below I listed some of the ideas that have been considered. Warning: Not all of the ideas were serious. I initially stated that everyone will have to find out himself which ones were serious and which ones not, by now I am revealing it as our plane is soon finished... (I am afraid there were not too many serious ones)

Here the ideas in alphabetic order:

Air Brakes / Spoilers - not serious

Every passenger jet has Air Brakes / Spoilers to help achieve a quick descent as well as to reduce the landing distance. The SportCruiser has big wing lockers with forward opening doors, so if these doors could be opened during flight that would probably be like pulling the hand brake on a car while driving...

Air Conditioning - not serious

Every modern car comes with air conditioning, so why not our plane? Especially with that large canopy...

APU - not serious

Many of the gadgets in this list require electrical power, and for many of them it would be convenient if they would be available even on the ground while the engine is not running (e.g. air conditioning!), so an auxiliary power unit (APU) could be quite helpful. Most APU´s available on the market are too big however (and are running on jet fuel), but maybe we could install one of those small Honda generators?...

Bicycle Carrier - not serious

It is very common to carry bicycles on cars today, so why not put a bicycle carrier on a plane? Today's sport bicycles have excellent aerodynamics, so this should not be too much of a problem...

Floats - not serious

I love travelling in the north, so floats would open completely new possibilities. As Chip from CZAW has won the Schneider trophy with an Zenair CH-601 he should be open to discuss floats for the SportCruiser.

Folding Wings - not serious

A great way to reduce the cost of hangarage would be folding wing... This version might be a bit complex, maybe I manage to convince CZAW to develop an easier one...

Galley - not serious

Every proper business jet has a galley (kitchen for the non pilots), so why not our SportCruiser. At least a coffee machine and a fridge seem to be the minimum every plane should have... Imagine the looks of fellow pilots when you open the canopy after landing and it smells from freshly brewed coffee... (I call it the "Starbucks" option).

Hardpoints - not serious

Wouldn't it be great to carry additional luggage underneath the wings? Or long range ferry tanks? Or what about using the SportCruiser for commercial aerial work? It could be a cost effective alternative to helicopters in many applications like crop dusting, banner towing (not in Switzerland) or even dropping hay for cows that are trapped in the snow in the mountains... For traffic reporting or television work one could also install a camera pod.

Head Up Display - not serious

How can we beat those fancy all-screen avionics? With a head-up display, of course, which would propel us into the fighter league... (Top Gun has just been voted the best aviation movie of all times by EAA members)

In Flight Entertainment System - not serious

What Airbus and Boeing put into their jets should be the minimum on our plane as well, especially considering the long range tanks... Imagine watching "Top Gun" or "Those magnificent men in their flying machines" while cruising along... (I will propose this to Dynon)

JATO "Jet Assisted Take Off" Rockets - not serious

Did you ever consider a runway too short? I know the SporCruiser takes off in less than 150 m (450 ft), but sometimes even that is not available (for example when converting a personal yacht into an aircraft carrier). The military developed JATO rockets for the purpose of achieving extremely short takeoff distances, and many of them are probably available as surplus....

LED Landing Lights / Taxi Lights - serious

Another idea is to design our own landing lights based on LED´s. The progress in LED´s technology during the last few years might make this possible. Imagine that you only have to change the landing lights every 10´000 hours of use (around 200´000 hours of flying time or 1´000 years of 200 flying hours per year or 100 Rotax overhauls...). They could even be left on all the times if power consumption is sufficiently low, or have a cruise/taxi setting with only part of the LED's on.

LED Position Lights / Strobes - serious

Position lights based on LED´s can be found on the market already. As Rolf and I are both Electrical Engineers and as we have been involved in the design of LED signals for railway applications some time ago we consider designing our own LED position lights and LED strobes. As the SportCruiser features very sleek wingtips these will have to fair into the lines of the wingtips (not these ugly, old fashioned units still found as so called "standard" on the market).

Long Range Fuel Tanks - serious, but finally not done

The SportCruiser has an impressive load carrying capability. As European pilots and passengers are usually lighter than their American counterparts and as automotive fuel is not yet available at many airports additional fuel tanks could be a great idea.

Retractable Landing Gear - not serious

The sleek lines of the SportCruiser scream for a retractable landing gear. The wing lockers would make great wheel wells, so not too much engineering should be required...

Roof Box - not serious

Samedan Airport (LSZS, 5600 ft AMSL) near the ski resort of St. Moritz is only 45 flying minutes away from the airport where our plane will be based, so using it to go skiing seems to be a great idea. Most car owners today have a ski box on their roof, so why not put one on our SportCruiser? I have seen cars with ski boxes on German highways driving at higher speeds that the SportCruiser's cruising speed. I am sure CZAW, manufacturer of the SportCruiser, will deliver the necessary documentation to get an approval...

Seat and Stick Heating - not serious

Many motorcycles are equipped with seat and grip heating, so why not add the same for winter flying...

Skis - not serious

If winters with snow ever come back skis might be a good way to extend the flying season, or I might start glacier flying.

Smoke System - not serious

Wouldn't it be fun during the low pass at a fly in to just hit the smoke button...

Solar Array for Battery Charging - serious, but not (yet) done

What is standard on Yachts these days should be possible in an airplane too.

Spray Gear - not serious

I could use the Sportcruiser for aerial spraying.... That would be a way to earn money with flying, and at the same time even be allowed to fly low. The baggage lockers in the wings could be outfitted with tanks...