Part 7 - Where we go from here

by Ihab Awad, Founder of Airball.aero

If you missed it: Part 6 - One true instrument.

Now you know the Airball vision, and you are aware of our prototyping work. But we are not done. We want to make this available to as many people as possible! How can we do this? The simple answer is: with your help. The more interest we can show, the more we can get funding to work on this project and bring it to fruition. So if you want to see this coming to an airplane near you, tell us now. We have in the pipeline enough knowledge and prototypes to very confidently produce a series of products.

Our model is to at least start by providing kits. No soldering is required -- just assembling simple parts. In the future we may also offer completed versions. The work is Open Source so all designs and software are available to the public. In the future, we can move to providing finished products. This model has been validated by the "Stratux" ADS/B and GPS device, and by many successful businesses serving the hobby and experimental market.

Wireless probe and display

Our base product is a wireless system to add to an existing certified airplane, as an aid for flight instruction, or for people evaluating the system. Here are some of our prototypes, and our engineering vision for the products. This compact and lightweight product features a sunlight readable display and "all day" battery life in the probe.

Wired probe and display

For the Experimental-Amateur Built and Part 103 markets, especially for simple aircraft that can benefit from the Airball system as a "one stop shopping" instrument for all their day VFR needs, we can scale down our wireless system to one that uses ship's power and a wire for communication. Our vision is for a stripped down version of our wireless probe mounted on a "pole" that can be attached in any of a number of ways, including using Adel clamps along a wingtip. The wired display is almost identical to our wireless version, with panel mounting hardware.

Relative wind demonstrator

We have constructed a demonstration "airplane" for use in instruction. When the instructor moves the "relative wind arrow" around, it sends the same signals as a probe, allowing the result to be shown on an Airball display! A more productionized version of this is on our product roadmap, looking more like our "relative wind key chain demonstrator" that we have created.

Educational content

Airball is really an educational effort! And to that end, we hope to produce lectures, videos, and other content to help pilots master the relative wind.

Community

Our most important asset is our community! And to that end, we are dedicated to supporting aviation in any way we can:

• We will provide a forum for pilots and CFIs to discuss how to use our instrument.

• Our probe and display are Open Source and reprogrammable. They can be modified by any hobbyist who wishes to use or extend our work.