Everyone agrees that flying is quite safe and that the statistical chances of a crash are infinitesimally small and yet, crashes do occur as my single engine Beechcraft Bonanza almost did early this year.

After retiring as an auto engineer in 2010, I had decided to invest some of my savings towards buying a small aircraft and starting a business of flying tourists over Assateague Island and surrounding tourist destinations all of which are very close to my home in Maryland.

I selected a pre-owned 1952 Beechcraft Bonanza partly because it was being sold by my close friend Jack Greenspan who I knew to be a very competent pilot and aircraft maintenance technician and partly because he let me have this beautiful, well maintained flying machine with just 342 engine hours for just $1 ... Read more »

This covers installation of the EGT probe manufactured by J.P. Instruments. While EGT probes manufactured by others also follow identical procedures, please read their manufacturer instructions for specifics.

If your aircraft previously had an EGT installed, the new EGT by J.P. Instruments will fit into the existing holes in the exhaust stack. This applies to any engine having probe holes of 1/8" to 1/4" diameter. If fitting an EGT probe where none existed previously, you will need to drill a 1/8" diameter hole and ream to fit. Before you begin drilling, mark the spots where you will need to drill. Each probe should have a uniform distance separating them from each other and from the exhaust ... Read more »

While the following installation guide is specifically written for the slimline series of gauges manufactured by California based J.P. Instruments, this installation guide can also be used as a general indicator by a DIY pilot to install any modern ultra-slim LCD instruments in the homebuilt aircraft instrument panel.

Pre-Installation Testing

Before you start installation, it is a good idea to first test the gauge you have received. Do this by connecting the red wire to the positive 12V / 24 V and the black wire to the negative (power return). The display should light up and you can use this opportunity to change the alarm setting ... Read more »

The instrument panel is intimately connected with the aircraft electrical systems – more so in the case of modern day aircraft with ultra accurate digital gauges. The reason a pilot should have a good working knowledge of aircraft electrical systems is because modern day gauges especially the volt and amp gauges can aid in detecting and diagnosing the start of potential problems.

Single and twin engine aircraft manufactured until a decade ago usually sported analog and mechanical flight instruments in the cockpit. The mechanical flight instruments included the attitude indicator, airspeed indicator, vertical speed, directional gyro, oil pressure indicator, tachometer, suction gage, magnetic compass and stall warning indicator.

The analog / electrical flight gauges or instru ... Read more »

Stroll through the parked single engine aircraft at any air show and you would be amazed at how many single engine aircraft continue to sport and use vintage gauges. Without doubt, these gauges add a “wow factor” and old-world charm to the aircraft but when it comes to safety, there is simply no comparison between these vintage gauges and modern day slim line gauges for single engine aircraft.

Most pilots and owners of these single engine aircraft avoid upgrading because of the cost and also because they feel that the modern day slim line gauges bring in a degree of absurdity to the look of cockpit instrument panel.

First off, thanks to relentless research and use of space-age material, J.P. Instruments the World leader in slim line gauges for single engine aircraft, ... Read more »

Be in the forefront of exciting new technology and have a set of experimental aircraft engine monitors that are more advanced than anything in the market. Think how exciting it would be to compare notes with fellow aircraft owners and be able to point out that the aircraft engine monitors you have installed are far ahead of anything they have.

Take the Engine Data Management 740 Experimental System by JP Instruments (https://www.jpinstruments.com/technical-support/video-tutorials/edm-730830/), for example, it is the most advanced and accurate piston engine-monitoring instrument available on the market today.

The EDM 740 Experimental, features Bright day-light display, enables you to scan and correct engine problems as soon as they occur and has a flexible screen display that allows the EDM 740 to fit al ... Read more »

Aircraft Fuel Flow (FF) is probably one of the most important of aircraft engine parameters that need to be captured. Having Aircraft Fuel Flow information presented to the pilot and also logged is essential to diagnosing a host of potential fuel related problems including incorrect fuel system adjustments, mixture distribution problems, dirty fuel nozzles, stuck carburettor floats, and so on.

According to ‘Aviation Consumer’, the best FF or aircraft fuel flow instrument on market is manufactured by J.P. Instruments – a California based Aircraft Instrumentation Manufacturer. While referring to the product i.e. Fuel Scan 450 and Fuel Scan 450 Twin (for single and twin eng ... Read more »

There are numerous single and twin engine aircraft out there that were manufactured in the 50’s and are still buzzing the skies in America. These have been lovingly maintained by their owners who often wish they had worthy replacements for their ageing, outdated and often unreliable aircraft instrument panel.

More often than not, they hesitate to replace the old aircraft instrumentation because of cost concerns. Fortunately for them, J.P. Instruments, a California based company has been manufacturing cost-effective aircraft instruments which are an ideal replacement for single and twin engine aircraft instrument panels and also the best possible way to convert ancient analog flight instruments into modern space-age digital flight instruments.

Converting analog to digital not only brings in accuracy, it brings i ... Read more »

During the 30’s when aircraft instrumentation first began to make their appearance, aircraft engine management system meant an airspeed indicator, turn-bank coordinator, manifold pressure, altimeter, engine RPM, compass, and the climb-dive indicator.

Navigation meant a magnetic compass mounted in front of the pilot and there was another compass in his pocket just in case he had to bail out which back then, was quite frequent. Pilots flew a couple of hundred feet above tree tops so they could navigate by roads, landmarks and railway tracks. Pilots flew at night only if they had no option. More often than not, they would miss their destination by hundreds of miles and also required bonfires on the field during landing. Fatal accidents were routine and the plane would invariable have to be written-off.
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J.P. Instruments announces their new and exciting range aircraft cockpit enhancements aimed specially at those planning to or who have purchased a pre-owned single or twin engine aircraft.

Buying a well maintained pre-owned aircraft is just part of the romance of owning an aircraft. Statistically, the age for new owners is less than the age of the former owners of the aircraft. Consequently, the new owners being more in tune with the times, desire a cockpit that is more informative, is colourful and preferably one that can sync with a laptop via a cable or download data to a USB stick.

California based JP Instruments does exactly that – design and manufacture state-of-the-art after market glass instrument panels for single and twin engine aircraft. Not only do these new instrume ... Read more »