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Speedbrake auto-retract - When the throttle is advanced from either cockpit, the front lever contacts the speedbrake switch, automatically
retracting the brake.
Trailing Edge Fences
- These devices are claimed to reduce minimum controllable and max sustained airspeeds. After careful data collection, I found
the low-end results inconclusive, but certainly no worse than without them, so I decided to keep them. Mine are easily removable
through the use of nutplates in the wing, allowing me to add or remove them for students to evaluate their effects.
Electric Nose Gear Extension - In order to install the
Wilhelmson nose gear system, I had to come up with a solution that enabled the use of 2 U-joints so that I could route the
manual back-up toque tube between my existing avionics on the panel. The solution included attaching a guide block to the
rear corner of the avionics stack (yellow circle added to make it easier to find).
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Rear Cockpit Rudder Pedals
- These removable pedals allow me to completely control the plane from the back seat, including landings. The pedals are attached
to the cabin floor witn AN-hinge to re-enforced hard points and linked into the existing rudder cables.
Sealing Canard Torque Tube
- Living in a cold, wet place and flying at high altitudes, I often had cold feet. Even with a good electric heater by my
feet, I still got very cold. By installing eccentric disks on the torque tube and small fiberglass recepticals on the fuselage
and canard to help block off airflow, I significantly improved the warmth of feet.
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Rear Cockpit Instruments and Kay-Vision - These instruments,
plus the ability to see the front cockpit tachometer, enable me to fly and instruct from the rear cockpit. Kay-Vision is the
curved mirror to the right in the picture, attached to a suction cup that is attached in line with the canard so as not to
block my view. This allows me to see my passenger's face when I am in front or look at the prop in flight.
Aerodynamic Wheelpants
- After 20 years with the original Sport Flight "football" pants, I took some advice from Gary Hertzler and made
my own teardrop wheel pants. I followed the full process, from making a plug, to molds and subsequently pulling several pairs
of pants. Having spent hundreds of hours on the project (lots of fun, learned a lot), I gained a whopping 3 knots of cruise
speed.
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