FAQ's

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FC-10  Fuel Computer
AP-60 Audio Mixer
GT-50 G-Meter
T-30 Tachometer
LC-40e/LC-50 Lighting Controller
 
FAA Certification
 
Flight Data Systems products do not have FAA approval for installation in certified aircraft and are intended only for Experimental/Amateur built aircraft. 
 
 
FC-10 

Fuel Return

The FC-10 is compatible with engines with a fuel return line. The flow through a second transducer is subtracted from the flow of the transducer in the fuel supply line. Order the dual sensor system.

If your engine is equipped with a fuel return line from the carburetor or fuel injection manifold back to the fuel tank you will need to install two flow transducers. One in the feed line from the fuel pump to the carburetor and one in the return line from the carburetor back to the fuel tank. This applies to certain Continental engines and Rotax 912(ULS) and 914 engines.

Gravity Feed

The FC-10 is compatible with gravity feed.  If using a gravity fed system, be sure to check your flow rate with the transducer installed by disconnecting your fuel line at the carborator and timing the filling of a gas jug.  The flow rate should exceed the max burn rate of your engine by at least 50%.  This should be done with the airplane in a climb attitude. It is also a good idea to perform this test without the transducer installed to calculate a baseline flow rate.

We now offer the FT-90 transducer which is designed specifically for gravity fed engines.  Please contact us directly when ordering to substitute this transducer for no extra charge.

Marine Use

The FC-10 can be used in a boat, however, the instrument must not be exposed to moisture as it was designed to be in dry aircraft environment.

Diesel Fuel

The FT-60 fuel flow transducer is compatible with gasoline, Av gas, diesel, jet A, kerosene and any other fluid with similar optical characteristics.

Other Sending units

We also stock the FT-90 transducer for high flow and gravity fed applications. There is no extra charge for substituting the FT-90 in place of the FT-60. Please specify when ordering.

The FC-10 is also compatible with Floscan transducers.  You will need to figure out the Floscan model to obtain the correct K factor.  This will be a number in the thousands.  We suggest taking a picture of the transducer and documenting all numbers on the unit then contacting Floscan (206) 524-6625 x306.  

Please note we do not sell the FT-60 transducer without our FC-10 instrument. 

High Flow Readings

High readings may be caused by fuel pumps pulsing near the transducer.  This is a common fuel flow system issue.  If possible, run the engine without the pumps running and see if this helps.

Possible solutions to the fuel pump pulsing issues are moving the transducer far away from the pump or installing a dampener such as this one:

Pulsation Dampener

Deviation from FT-60 Transducer Installation Instructions

We want our customers to be happy with the performance of the FC-10, therefore, we suggest following the transducer installation instructions as closely as possible for your installation. The provided instructions for installing the transducer are from Electronics International, the transducer's manufacturer.  Any deviation from their recommendations may degrade performance of the system. The only way to find out if a specific deviation will work, is to fly the plane and collect empirical data.  We have had customers deviate from the instructions successfully, but can not make any suggestions for specific deviations since every installation has many variables.


AP-60

AP-60 too quiet

To verify if the problem is with the AP-60 or the audio panel, please try the following test. 

Disconnect the output of the AP-60 at the terminal strip.  Obtain a headphone jack and wire it directly to the AP-60 output and AP-60 ground then plug in your headphones.  Power the AP-60 and the input devices and see if the volume is adequate.

Volume Control

All AP-60 channels are identical and are set at a fixed level.  Input levels should be adjusted via the volume control on each input device.

If you have an intercom, we recommend using the intercom's music input for the iPod and the intercom's radio input for the AP-60 (your comm radio should also be input into the AP-60). 

Comm Radios with Built in Intercoms

Wire the microphone jacks directly to the radio and the audio output of the radio to any channel the AP-60.  The intercom function will be handled within the radio.  

AP-60 Transmit Switching

The AP-60 is capable of mixing six audio inputs.  This can include dual nav/com's.  The AP-60 does not provide switching for the transmit function, however, this can be accomplished with a simple toggle switch. Here is a transmit switching Diagram:  Transmit Switching

T-30

Systems Know to work
Slick Magnetos
Bendix Magnetos
M-14 Radial Engine Magnetos
Lightspeed Electronic Ignition
Emag/Pmag
Electro Air
Rotax Four Cycle Engines (912, etc...)
Jabiru (Hardware modification required, Please contact us before ordering to have your unit modified for a Jabiru it leaves our facility)
Suzuki 6 Cylinder used in Scaled P-51

Systems known not to work
Rotax Two Cycle Engines (582, etc...)
Two Cycle engines with 6 pulses per revolution

Pulse Specifications
The T-30 will accept a pulse rate up to 230 pulses per second.  We can increase this to 400 pulses per second with a minor modification done at our facility before shipping.  
The T-30 settings are adjustable from 0.5 to 6.0 pulses per revolution

Other Systems

We have not tested the T-30 specifically with every ignition system, however, it accepts a wide range of signals and we believe it will work fine for most installations.   In case it is not compatible, we have a one year money back return policy.

Tachometer Setup with one Magneto and one Lightspeed module:

1) Connect the magneto only and set the associated PPR to 1.0.  Check your results.
2) Connect the Lightspeed only and set the associated PPR to 2.0.  Check your results.

Once you have verified that each system drives the tach correctly, you can proceed to connect them both at the same time with the appropriate PPR setting for each signal.  Both signals will then be monitored.

Tachometer RPM Indication Jumpy

Disconnect one of the p-leads from the T-30.  Then, in the setup, set the pulses per rev for the connected channel (left or right) to "1.0" and the disconnected channel to "0.0".  Set the filter to "0".  This will isolate the system to looking at only one magneto.  Run the engine.  With the filter set at "0", you should see a reading that varies +/- 20 RPM.  If it is more than this, you may need to try different resistors.  We suggest trying 20K then 47K resistors.  They are available from Radio Shack.  Please let us know the results of the test.

LC-40e/LC-50

LC-40e Problems
1) Disconnect all wires except Power and Ground.
2) Re-connect one potentiometer to "CH1', "5V" and Ground.
3) Connect one lamp to "OUT1".

LC-40e Noise

The first place to look is at the shielding of all audio wiring.  All connections to the headphones and microphones should be via shielded wires with the shield grounded on one end. It is also advisable to isolate the mic. and phone jacks, electrically, from the airframe.

GT-50

GT-50T No OAT Reading

The GT-50 will not display temperature unless it sees an OAT probe connected.

Try the following test:

Unplug the GT-50 connector then take an Ohm meter and read the resistance between the green and black wires on the connector that go to the probe.  The value should be around 3K OHMS at room temperature. If the circuit is open (infinite resistance) either the wiring is bad or the OAT probe is bad.  Test the OAT probe directly by reading the resistance between the two wires coming out of the probe. Again, you should see around 3K Ohms for a good probe at room temperature.

GT-50 Calibration

Sorry, we can not provide calibration data for the GT-50. However you can confirm normal operation and correct calibration of the unit by:
Powering it up on a flat surface. Once it is powered up and reading "1.0", set it upside down on the same flat surface and confirm that it reads "-1.0".

GT-50 Battery Current Consumption

The GT-50 should not be a significant drain on your battery.  The GT-50 uses 0.003 Amps when the backlight is off, an amount less than the normal discharge rate of a stored battery.  Like a car's clock, it wont run down the battery.

Next time you fly, as a test, read the voltage of your battery after you land and write it down. Next, unplug the GT-50 at the rear connector.  When you return, plug in the GT-50 and read the voltage.  We suspect the voltage decrease will be the same as if the GT-50 has not been connected.

As an operational test of the GT-50, you can put an ammeter in the hot battery connection and confirm a current draw of .003 Amps or less.

To use the GT-50 without a hot battery connection, tie both the GT-50 power wires together and connect them to your instrument power bus.  Note that the clock and flight timer will be reset on each power in this configuration.