Granted that Exhaust Gas Temperature (EGT) and Cylinder Head Temperature (CHT) have applications in auto industry, the sensor probes and instruments designed to capture and display these temperatures were primarily designed for use in aircraft.

The Exhaust Gas Temperature (EGT) sensor or probe is placed in each exhaust pipe of the aircraft, roughly 4 to 6 inches from the cylinder head. These probes read the temperature of the gas as it leaves the cylinder. The exhaust gas temperature is not uniform and varies depending on the power setting, ambient air temperature, altitude and cylinder compression.

Other factors that come into play and have a bearing on the exhaust gas temperature include spark plug ignition ... Read more »

The aircraft RPM Sensors we refer to in this article are the ones used to measure RPM of the Bendix Magneto or the Slick Magnetos. There's also the Dual Magneto but the popular ones in use are the Bendix Magnetos and the Slick Magnetos.

The Bendix Magneto is easily overhauled and therefore extremely cost effective. Companies such as J.P. Instruments manufacturers highly accurate aircraft RPM sensors for both - Bendix Magnetos and Slick Magnetos.

For the uninitiated, rather than rely on the aircraft battery, the power to the spark plugs comes from the magneto – think of it as a mini power generator. The Bendix Magneto is a small generator with a transformer, breaker switch and a distributor to guide the high voltage to the spark plugs.

A power generator obvious ... Read more »

A modern day aircraft is full of strategically placed sensors that relay data in real-time to the cockpit. With the increase in the number of sensors as well as information being relayed to the cockpit, there is an overflow of information and from this, arose the need to quickly analyse, prioritise and display vital information in a manner that makes instant sense to the pilots. Thus the need for aircraft Electronic Data Management Systems (or EDM's for short).

Aircraft manufactured 30 years back had a few sensors that were mostly clustered around the engine(s). Now apart from sensors being placed in the usual locations i.e. the engines; there are sensors attached to the wheel lift, cargo door, sensors that read cargo bay pressure and passenger cabin pressure. Additionally, ... Read more »

As per aviation rules, “...the aircraft fuel gauge must indicate the quantity of usable fuel in each tank during flight.” Let us see what this is achieved.

One would assume that an aircraft fuel gauge would be somewhat identical to that of a car. In some respects you would be right. But there are some fundamental difference between what happens in a car verses what happens in an airplane that makes reading fuel levels in an airplane quite complex and complicated.

Here are the differences:

1. A car has only one fuel tank whereas, an aircraft has a three or more fuel tanks.
2. A car has one engine where as an aircraft has a minimum of one engine.
3. The fuel density in the car remains steady whereas in an aircraft, it can fluctuate w ... Read more »

Even those of us who haven't set foot into the aircraft cockpit has seen these aircraft engine gauges in Hollywood movies. They resemble clock dials in all sorts of shapes and sizes but most round and couple of inches across. Only one tells the time whereas the rest, provide all sorts of other equally vital information mostly related to the engine performance.

In WWII planes especially those built in the 40's, each dial had a wire going back to the engine and connecting to a 'sensor'. Manufactured from alloys these sensors while slow to respond, did a reasonably accurate job. Of course, one has to remember the back then, planes were slow too.

Today, the data flowing between the aircraft engine and the cockpit has to be fast otherwise the plane would have travelled cons ... Read more »

It is said that technology never stops – it keeps marching forward.

There was a time when the car dashboard had a speedometer, an amp meter, a fuel gauge and an mileage indicator. All these used to be pure analog displays. With time, analog displays were replaced with digital displays. The digital displays itself further improved. Today, it doesn't just display the quantity of fuel in the tank, it displays distance-to-empty. The humble mileage indicator is replaced with its digital version that also includes multiple individual trip mileage counters within the same display. The more sophisticated the car, the more sophisticated the dashboard and information available to the driver. But even the most unsophisticated car today, offers more accurate and far more information th ... Read more »

Air travel is considered to be one of the safe modes of transport. And, we owe this safety to the aircraft engine monitoring system that is constantly keeping tabs on the functioning of the aircraft’s engines. Even a small anomaly is displayed on the monitors so that the pilots or the engineers may take corrective action before the problem gets out of hand.

A Mini Computer by Itself

An aircraft engine monitoring system consists of sensors linked to various strategic parts of the aircraft like the engine, landing gear, flaps, etc. Sensors also monitor the oil pressure, fuel pressure, engine temperature and so on. These sensors are then linked to display monitors in the cockpit. Each aircraft engine monitor is a mini-computer by itself, which reads the data and d ... Read more »

Just so we are on the same page, CHT stands for Cylinder Head Temperature and EGT stands for Exhaust Gas Temperature and in the case of this article, these refer to the aircraft engine cylinder and aircraft engine exhaust gases (same terminology is also used in high-performance cars).

Before we get on to the use of CHT and EGT gauges and monitors, we need to first understand CHT and EGT data. CHT and EGT provides information of two different things that is happening inside the aircraft engine. The former i.e. CHT data specifically points to the Otto cycle power stroke that happens before the exhaust valve opens, while EGT data pertains to the exhaust stroke after the exhaust valve opens.

CHT gauge or monitor measures heat energy wasted during the power stroke. At this stage, the cylinder is unde ... Read more »

Imagine if for every app in your computer you needed a separate display screen – boggles the mind don't it? And yet, there are a large number of single and twin engine aircraft still flying that have one display gauge per sensor type.

When these planes were manufactured, digital technology either did not exist or was at a very nascent stage. This is not the case today so unless life means little to you and you are still flying an aircraft with its cockpit loaded with dozens of dials, now is the time to upgrade.

Replace all those dials and gauges with just one, or a few (depending on your budget), modern digital gauge ... Read more »

Aircraft cockpits have evolved from being a dimly lit, tiny cabin with three or four dials, steering column and rudder controls to a modern flight deck with digital screens that take care of almost everything except take off and land.

As aircraft's developed so did the number of dials in the aircraft cockpit. Pretty soon the aircraft cockpit was a crowded place with dozens of dials fighting for space and the pilot's attention. The pilots not only had to fly the aircraft, they also had to observe each and every dial and figure out the health of the aircraft. This was an impossible ... Read more »