Product Notes

Product Notes

Product positioning, messaging, roadmap posture, and domain reference for TrueHour. (Moved from .claude/instructions.md 2026-07-25 — read this when writing user-facing copy, planning features, or discussing market viability; day-to-day dev guidance lives in CLAUDE.md.)

Status & checkpoint

Personal-first tool with potential SaaS expansion. Market validation showed lukewarm interest, so focus is on a functional personal tool that may expand based on organic interest.

June 2026 checkpoint — evaluate based on:

• Personal usage patterns (is it actually useful?)
• Any organic interest from other pilots
• Technical stability
• Time investment vs. value received

Decision: continue as personal tool, pursue SaaS expansion, or sunset.

Core insight: pilots significantly underestimate their true hourly flying costs by only counting rental rates while ignoring fixed expenses.

Messaging & copy guidelines

Key message: "Know What Flying Actually Costs You"

Tone: direct and factual, not hyperbolic. Speak to pilots as peers (the founder is a pilot). Focus on the "true cost revelation."

Avoid: overpromising on market size or revenue potential; marketing buzzwords; claims about being "the only" or "the best."

Financial projections: when discussing market viability, use conservative estimates — assume high churn (20–25%), low conversion (<1% of addressable market), and focus on profitability at small scale (100–500 users).

Role-based onboarding personas

Support different pilot types with appropriate defaults:

• Student Pilot — training-focused, certification tracking
• Active Pilot — ongoing expense management, currency tracking
• Advancing Pilot — additional ratings/certifications path
• Owner/Operator — aircraft-specific costs, maintenance reserves

Certification tracking scope

• Medical certificate expiration
• Flight review (BFR) tracking
• Currency requirements (landings, night, IFR)
• Rating progression (PPL, IR, CPL, CFI)

Data import

• ForeFlight CSV is the primary import source; preserve all columns during import. (The Simulated Instrument vs. Simulated Flight distinction is a hard rule — see CLAUDE.md Domain Notes.)
• Planned future sources: Garmin Pilot, MyFlightBook.

Domain reference — typical costs

Fixed (annual): ForeFlight/Garmin Pilot subscription ($100–200/yr), renter's insurance ($200–400/yr), flying club membership ($100–500/mo), medical exam ($100–200 every 2–5 yrs), flight review ($200–400 every 2 yrs).

Variable (hourly): aircraft rental (wet $150–250/hr typical), fuel if separate, instructor ($50–100/hr), landing fees, tie-down/parking.

Worked example: $3,000 fixed / 50 hrs = $60/hr hidden cost. Add to a $180/hr rental = $240/hr true cost — 33% higher than perceived.