Finger lights don't work when your hands are holding onto controls, setting switches & the like. Still need a narrow beam onto a viewing/work area. Whilst screen based charts are good, not all airstrips have charted procedures or diagrams. Companies that operate in the bush will usually have their own paperwork with information about the strip or landing area. Can include diagrams, textual description, limitations, mandatory items etc. Ditto things like search & rescue patterns. I used to be qualified in Australia as a civil SAR pilot. One of the things we did was drop smoke/flares, stores & rafts, following an instrument-like pattern to get accurate timing & positioning in winds. Need to be able to read that stuff. Paper maps & charts are still useful, even with electronic versions. If this is planned to be a useful utility aircraft then you have to expect it will spend a lot of time off the beaten track.
A feature request that could help: The ability to upload scanned charts/documents for display on the screen. Even better if the software allows the uploaded chart's scale to be entered + some reference point lat/longs so that the GPS position can be overlayed.
Another software feature request: Using the stored charts be able to plan or enter a route by touching cumulative waypoints on the screen, designate some as intermediate landing/refuel points and have a box-out form appear with known data & new data to be added (eg fuel upload). While doing the planning have a range ring on display that's calibrated to known or entered fuel on board and pre-set fuel flow. In flight the range ring could use measured FF against known quantity & grounds speed.
Also avionics based: Weight & balance calculations. Automatic if appropriate sensors are present, or manual if not.
Climbing over seats is surprisingly common so that's not a bother. If you can't find a way to extend the seat rail aft then try to find a way to have adjustable rudder pedals. If it's not pressurised then extending the footwell a bit into the nose shouldn't be too hard. Beech, in their Bonanzas & Barons have rather useful collapsible pedals so pax. can't interfere when the pedals are stowed. Another option could be to space the L & R pedals apart, leaving a gap between them that would give a bit of extra leg room.Sitting in a cramped space for two or three hours without being able to stretch one's legs is unpleasant & distracting. Even worse if you have a whole day of it.
Red/green mode lights for the altitude selector is nice but I'd still rather have the act of selecting the altitude automatically arm the mode, with it becoming active once a climb or descent is commanded.
If the throttles are to be on the pedestal, I'm not sure I like the idea of the condition levers being elsewhere.
If the CBs are to be operated remotely instead of physically, how will you guarantee redundancy so that no matter what the pilot can ensure that power was cut to the problem circuit. Thinking of fires here, and how they can completely disable remote switches if they burn through the control wiring. I know I like to be able to have the all-but-guaranteed ability to kill the power through any circuit to just by by reaching over & pulling the CB.
Hard switched code selectorsfor the TXDR is preferred but I could live with a softswitch as long as it was always able to be be accessed ie a permanently displayed TXDR switch on the screen that, when activated, sets the data intput buttons/knobs to IFF code entry. Still need a permanent IDENT button. Shortcuts/fast access to the emergency code(s) could be considered too. Garmin have on their transponder equipment
Meant to ask, is it pressurised? If not, then how about being able to open the windows. Not just a crack or a storm window but the whole thing wide open. Not inflight, but on the ground for ventilation and even egress. Again, have a look at Beech Bonanzas & Barons: Both mid fuselage windows are top-hinged & have a mechanism that holds the window open a small amount (but I'd like a more) and also pull a pin to release the limiter & the window swings up fully to be an emergency exit. Your design's crew side windows could be forward-hinged...
I don't think autoflight routing around Wx is feasable. Weather, traffic & ATC demands are too variable. And no matter what the avionics show, Mark 1 eyeball is still a final arbiter of what's out there. The number of times what I see out the window is worse than the XM or radar shows and choose not to go there, or the XM or stormscope shows something that isn't there. XM information can be old too. It's not real time.
Are fuel tanks in the wings? How does the crew get up there to refuel or check the caps? A couple of permanently extended or flip out steps in the fuselage would be nice eg Cessna's step kit for their high wing singles. The steps don't have to be large - just enough for a toe purchase while climbing onto the roof. Didn't need steps in an Islander because I could stand on the R. pax door edge & pull myself up onto the wing using the R. engine cowl & roof. Also what about checking engine oil pre-flight? Will the dipstick/sight guage be accessible without a ladder?
Just some more thoughts....
Good luck with your project.
Last edited by Tinstaafl; 23rd February 2011 at 04:28.