installation guide for the stratomaster flight digital aircraft instrument page 1

Installation guide for the Stratomaster Flight digital aircraft instrument

In particular the instrument is intended for use with: • Home built or amateur built aircraft • Experimental aircraft • Microlight and Ultralight aircraft • Aircraft not falling in any of the above categories that may use non-certified instruments • Aircraft having obtained special flight permits specifying the use of this instrument Please note: You should perform the following settings after installation: 1. ASI/VSI zero procedure. 2. Set the date and time. 3. Change any other settings as required. See “factory setup” at the end of this manual. 4. Verify that Altimeter correction and ASI gain are set to the values given in the calibration certificate of this instrument All mode setups are permanent and do not rely on a battery. Values that may be affected by a low battery are: • Date and time (real time clock) • Current fuel level if you use the calculated fuel level using the fuel flow sender • Hobbs and maintenance timer • Current flight details if the flight was not yet logged due to a power failure in flight We recommend that the unit is powered up at least once every 3 months for a few hours to recharge the internal battery.

Before you commence any attempt at installing this instrument it is your duty to familiarize yourself with the relevant aircraft equipment installation requirements and regulations of your country. Proceed only if you are certain that you are permitted to install this instrument or seek approval from the required authorities. Also note that in some countries only approved persons may perform the installation of this instrument. This instrument has not been submitted to CAA or FAA approval of any kind. Although this instrument surpasses all known specifications, it has not been the manufacturers intention to submit this instrument for approval due to the large costs involved. In addition, the instrument is targeted for aircraft classifications that do not require or warrant such approval.


Rear panel view of the Stratomaster Flight – Power and rev counter wiring

12 Volt battery A/C to D/C

regulator

Engine with generator such as Rotax 503,

Rotax 582 etc

Two yellow wires

Brown wire (ground)

12V motorcycle battery if you require electric start or small 12V 2AH sealed lead acid battery if you do not have any heavy current users

Conductive aircraft frame or busbar

220 E

Grey wire (Rotax ignition)

Power switch


Wiring for engines other than the Rotax engines follows similar lines as above. A suitable signal for the rev counter can often be picked up from the A/C lighting coil outputs. Once you have established how many pulses are created per rev you can adjust the Stratomaster Flight in the “rev counter setup” menu accordingly. Here are some typical figures: Rotax 503 DCDI, 582 DCDI – 6 pulses per rev. Rotax points ignition – 2 pulses per rev.

Please note that the above wiring suggestion is based on the following assumptions: You want to use a Rotax engine with Ducati DCDI ignition; You have a 12 Volt rechargeable battery. This would be a sealed or open lead acid battery in most cases; Please note that the 220 Ohm ballast resistor has been installed between the ignition wire terminal and the 12V supply ground terminal. This resistor is only required for the Ducati system. It is possible to get unstable rev counter readings if you do not install this resistor. Please note that the resistor can get fairly hot during operation of the engine so please do not install it in such a way that plastic or cable insulation could get damaged.


Rear Panel view of Stratomaster Flight – External temperature probe

The Stratomaster Flight includes a precision semiconductor temperature probe. It is recommended that you install it as shown above. The RED wire connects to the “Temperature sensor +” terminal. The remaining wire may be GREEN, BLUE or BLACK. This wire connects to the “Temperature sensor –“ terminal. The probe head itself should be mounted using suitable means outside of the instrument pod or aircraft if a closed cockpit aircraft is used. The probe should be placed in the shadow of the pod or aircraft or in a place were sunlight cannot heat the probe. Also ensure that engine heat or exhaust gases cannot heat the probe at any time.


The probe is required for the display of ambient temperature and density altitude. Should you choose not to use the probe, please disable the “External temp sens” in the mode menu. In this case the unit will use the internal temperature probe. Due to self-heating of the unit this may lead to incorrect, exaggerated density altitude readings. We recommend that you install the external temperature probe. Should you require a suitable replacement probe, it can be obtained from MGL Avionics at reasonable cost or you can make up your own probe. In this case please obtain a National Semiconductor Temperature Sensor type LM335 in a TO92 package.

The twisted cable can be extended should this be required. In this case please use a similar cable type and continue the twist for the length of the cable.


Rear Panel view of Stratomaster Flight – Fuel Flow Sender

Note: Direction of flow Indicated by arrow on sender

RED wire – Fuel Flow Sender Supply BLUE wire – Fuel Flow Sender Sensor Braid – Fuel Flow Sender Ground Warning: Incorrect wiring can damage Both the Stratomaster Flight unit as well as the flow sender.

Fuel flow sender part RS 256-225


Further, it is possible to set up the Stratomaster Flight to calculate Fuel remaining by subtracting fuel used from a value entered when you filled your tank(s). In this case you may omit the installation of the optional fuel level sender. Please note that the installation of the Fuel Flow sender should be done in such a fashion that dirt or debries from the fuel tank cannot lodge inside the flow sender. These will not block you fuel flow but may lead to the impeller inside the sender jamming. It is usually sufficient to mount the Flow sender AFTER the fuel filter but before the fuel pump. It is a good idea to provide a small reservoir such as a primer bulb between the flow sender and the fuel pump. Primer bulb or small reservoir

Fuel filter Fuel Tank

The optional Fuel Flow Sender is highly recommended for use with the Stratomaster Flight. It provides instantaneous readouts of hourly fuel usage, and both time and distance estimates on remaining fuel in flight. You can also verify the performance of your fuel pump during the pre-takeoff engine run up – a very valuable check !

Fuel pump

Fuel flow sender


The flow sender is delivered with a small jet that can be installed in the flow sender inlet. Installation of this jet is recommended for engines with fuel flow rates lower than about 50 liters per hour. This would apply to most small two and four stroke engines. The Stratomaster Flight is shipped with the Fuel sender calibration set for the jet installed. In a good installation you can expect about +/- 3% maximum flow reading error with this factor. You can calibrate the flow sender yourself to a higher degree of accuracy if you so desire. Recommended procedure to calibrate the fuel flow sender: Note: You must disable the Fuel Level sender if you have one installed first. Fill your tank exactly to a known level (for example 50 liters). Set your fuel level to 50 liters using the Main Menu. If required you may have to disable the fuel level sender first using the Mode Menu. Fly your aircraft for a period that you know will use approximately 20 liters of fuel. The exact fuel burn is not important, just burn about 20 liters of your fuel. At the end of your flight the Stratomaster Flight should give you a reading of how much fuel you have left – the reading should be about 30 liters left. Now place your aircraft in exactly the same position that you used when you first filled the tank and refill the tank to 50 liters using a measuring jug. You should find that you need 20 liters of fuel to refill to 50 liters. If you find that the Stratomaster under or over reads the fuel used, you should perform a simple adjustment of the Fuel Flow sender calibration factor. This is outlined in the Owners Manual under section 5.22. Example: Actual fuel used: 21.5 liters, Stratomaster fuel burn calculated 29.7 liters left in tank. This means the Stratomaster measured 50-29.7 = 20.3 liters. We are under reading by 1.2 liters. Current calibration factor in Fuel Flow setup (Device Menu) = 130. Let the corrected calibration factor be X.

(Fuel flow sender – continued from previous page) As indicated in the recommended fuel flow sender installation drawing, it can be of advantage to install the flow sender in such a fashion that the inlet points down and the outlet points up. This prevents vapor from forming a bubble inside the flow sender.


X = (21.5 * 130) / 20.3 X = 137.68

The closest setting you can enter as factor is 138. Enter it into the unit and you are done ! Repeat the above procedure to verify that your flow sender is now reading correctly. Please note: Before you calibrate the flow sender ensure there are no problems with your installation. We find the senders are very accurate if everything is installed and working properly. If your fuel burn indication is out by a large amount you have a problem that you should not attempt to fix by fiddling with the calibration factor ! Using other Flow Senders It is quite possible to use Flow Senders other than the RS device. In this case ensure that the Sender outputs a 5V TTL square wave or a similar signal. The Stratomaster interface electronics will adapt to a variety of different voltages and pulse shapes as it contains a schmidt-trigger input stage. The calibration factor can be entered in a wide range making the unit particularly suited to other Flow senders. The supply output terminal for the Sender provides a positive, regulated 5 volt output. This may be used to power the Flow Sender provided the Sender will not draw more than 40 mA of current. Should your sender require a higher voltage or more current, then you must supply the sender from a different power source. Exceeding the rating on the Stratomaster Flow sender supply terminal can affect the operation on the unit negatively or even damage it. Settings for the calibration factor for other Flow senders can be estimated, using the following formulae: Estimated calibration factor: 1000 / (Number of pulses per 4 second period for 1 liter/hour flow) Recommended Calibration Factors for RS Flow Sender Part No. 256-225 With jet installed = 130. Recommended with flow rates below 60 liters/hour maximum.


Please refer to the leaflet included with the Flow Sender for information on pressure drop vs. flow rate, wetted materials etc. It is your responsibility to ensure that the flow sender used is compatible with the fuels you intend using. We have found the RS sender to be very compatible with automotive fuels used in South Africa, many of which contain methanol. 100LL AVGAS also appears not to harm the sender in any way. We have exposed a RS sender continuously to our automotive fuels for a duration of two years without any noticeable ill effect on the sender. However, despite this MGL Avionics or its appointed agents cannot assume responsibility for any incident or damage, even loss of life by whatsoever cause connected with the fuel flow sender or the Stratomaster Flight Instrument. Usage of this or other senders is your own sole responsibility. If you do not agree with the above statement you must not use the fuel flow sender. Note to Pilots: (Even though this is the installation manual) You must always have a visual indication of the fuel level available, either by means of a sight glass, direct tank observation or a known, reliable secondary fuel level gauge. Fuel level indication by means of calculated fuel burn is subject to errors both by entering incorrect starting fuel levels as well as mechanical problems causing the flow sender impeller to turn too slowly, resulting in under reading fuel burn and thus over reading remaining fuel. As pilot in command of an aircraft it is your responsibility to ensure that you have sufficient fuel to reach your intended destination. Always ensure that you have a generous amount of reserve fuel and never use your reserve fuel except in an emergency if it is unavoidable.

(Fuel flow sender – continued from previous page) Without jet installed = 750. Recommended with flow rates above 60 liters/hour.


Rear Panel view of Stratomaster Flight – Fuel Level Sender

Typical float based Fuel level Sender (automotive type)

12V Battery

Aircraft frame or busbar at the same potential as the negative (-) of the battery or other supply


When you choose a float level sender, ensure that you select a model that is sturdy and promises reliable and long lifetime. In particular, select a model that does not have any metal parts that can rust. The Stratomaster Flight instrument can interface to a large variety of these fuel level senders. It does not matter if the sender resistance increases or decreases with the fuel level as long as it changes. The calibration procedure outlined in section 5.23 “Set fuel tank” in the owners manual describes in great detail the procedure to follow. In essence, the calibration procedure will measure the resistance of the fuel level sender at various fuel levels and then work out the readings in between those known settings. Typical fuel level senders that can be used with the Stratomaster Flight have resistance ranges in the region of 100 ohms to 500 ohms. Tip: It is possible to wire two fuel level senders in series if you have two fuel tanks. In this case the reading will be shown of the combined fuel level in both tanks. Safety Hazard ! Please read this: Be careful when installing fuel level senders into fuel tanks. Ensure that the fuel tank is completely empty when you proceed with the installation. Ensure that the fuel tank is well ventilated and does not contain any fuel vapors – these are highly explosive when mixed with air. Ensure that at all times the ground connection (the connection of the fuel level sender mounting flange) is securely connected to the aircraft frame (in case of a metal frame) and to the negative terminal of the battery. In addition the negative terminal of the battery must at all times be connected to the Supply ground terminal of the Stratomaster flight. Please note – this wiring is critical and must never break in flight. It would be possible to create electrical sparks in the fuel tank if your wiring is faulty or incorrect. The consequences of this can be imagined. This has nothing to do with the Stratomaster Flight Instrument itself but is a general hazard for any automotive fuel level sender installation. If you have no experience with electrical wiring, PLEASE delegate the task to a qualified automobile electrician or electronics technician. If you need to remove the Stratomaster Flight instrument, please first disconnect and secure the fuel level sender wire before disconnecting anything else.

(Fuel level sender – continued from previous page) The Stratomaster Flight instrument permits the connection of a standard automotive fuel level sender. These senders can be obtained at automotive spares outlets at reasonable cost.


Rear Panel view of Stratomaster Flight – Engine temperature sender

Aircraft frame or busbar

12V Battery

Rotax water temperature sender (can also be used for oil temperature)


Note that the Stratomaster Flight has been calibrated to accept the Rotax sender. Other senders obtainable from a automobile spares outlet can work but should be checked for accuracy. The instrument starts indicating from 20 degrees C onwards. If you have an ambient temperature reading of 25 degrees and the instrument shows a engine temperature reading of for example 35 degrees C (The engine is cold and at the same temperature as ambient), then you have an error. You can safely ignore small errors in reading. Typical automotive temperature probes are specified with as much as 20% error, the Rotax probe is no exception. Tip: You can use the Rotax probe even on the air cooled 503 and similar engines to for example measure crankcase or gearbox temperatures in flight if you make yourself a small adapter to hold the probe. Even measuring the temperature of the heated exhaust air from the fan cooling shroud can give valuable information on your engines performance (measure just inside the shroud, close to the center of the two cylinder heads). You would for example be able to identify a snapped fan belt in flight before your engine would seize (Use the Engine temperature alarm).

The above drawing shows the installation of a Rotax water/oil temperature probe. The probe is wired to the “Auxiliary” terminal. Please note that you should enable the “Engine temp sender” in the “Mode menu” if you would like to use this feature.


Rear Panel view of Stratomaster Flight – Alarm contact

12V / 1W Panel indicator

lamp (pilot light)

12V Battery


Please note: the drawing above leaves out the switch between the (+) terminal of the battery and the Stratomaster Flight unit for simplicity. The Stratomaster Flight provides an uncommitted contact (i.e. not connected to anything) that opens and closes once a second in the case of an active alarm. This can be used to switch a light bulb (as shown above) or switch a small buzzer or siren. The contact is rated for a maximum current of 0.5 amperes (500 mA) at 50 V maximum. Please do not exceed this specification as this could harm the internal reed relay contact. Alarms can be generated for over speed, under speed, engine temperature over limit, altitude over limit and low fuel levels. Please view the Owners manual sections 5.32, 5.33, 5.34, 5.35, 5.36 on how to setup the alarms. Please note that the Stratomaster Flight will close the alarm contact for a few seconds every time the unit is switched on. This is intended to provide a means of checking that the alarm is functional during pre-take-off checks.

The above drawing shows a suggested wiring layout for an external alarm indication. We suggest using a 12V / 1W indicator lamp such as can be found in many automotive parts supply shops. These indicators (called pilot lights) come in many colors, sizes and shapes.


Rear Panel view of Stratomaster Flight – Pitot and static port

Pitot tubes are found in a large variety in at your aircraft parts shop, in mail order catalogs or you can make your own. Contrary to popular belief, Pitot tubes are not carefully designed and calibrated but are simple orifices or tubes that get pointed in the direction that you are flying. The forward movement of the aircraft causes air to dam inside the pitot tube. This increases the pressure inside the tube. The

Pitot tube

Static port


Most small aircraft such as ultralights or microlights do not require a connection to a static port. In these cases, simply leave the static port open. Ensure however that the static port does not receive pressurized air due to the forward movement of the aircraft. Static ports are usually mounted at a strategic position on the rear side of the aircraft fuselage for faster, pressurized aircraft. Suitable pitot tubes can be made from a short piece of hollow aluminium or copper piping. Length and diameter are not important. Ensure that the front of the pitot tube has a suitable chamfer if you use thick walled tubing or you may introduce a speed reading error if you have a faster aircraft. Example cross-section of thick walled pitot tube. Suitable connection hose for both pitot tube and static port can be obtained from a hardware store or even a pet shop. Good quality tubing is often used for fish tanks and it has just the right diameter. Please note that this kind of tubing is not advised for pressurized aircraft. In this case you would need to obtain aircraft grade tubing of suitable diameter. You would also have to use hose clamps to fasten the hose onto the Stratomaster pitot and static ports. The Stratomaster Flight instrument allows you to calibrate the airspeed reading. This is done in the “Device Menu” under section 5.19 “Set ASI Gain”. The main reason for this is to be able to remove errors introduced due to the airflow around your aircraft which may have an effect of your pitot tube pressure build up.

Stratomaster Flight contains a sensitive silicon diaphragm sensor that measures the pressure difference between the pitot pressure port and the static port. This measurement is used to calculate the airspeed. In addition, the static port is connected to the altimeter sensor.

Chamfer leading edge if you use thick walled pipe as a pitot tube


Zeroing the air-speed sensor. It may be required from time to time to zero the airspeed and VSI readings. This will be true if you are reading a small VSI or ASI when the aircraft is standing still on the ground. Ensure that the readings are not caused by winds or other factors before performing the zero calibration. Also, ensure that no wind is blowing into the pitot tube. The procedure is outlined in section 5.20 “Zero ASI/VSI”. It is quick and easy and will ensure that your Stratomaster Flight will perform at its best at all times.

If you have a GPS receiver with a ground speed function you can use this as reference after allowing for any winds (Choose a wind still, absolutely calm day if possible). You should also compensate for density altitude before you correct the ASI reading. It is quite normal to under-read on the ASI if your are flying at higher than sea level in moderate or high temperatures. You can set the Stratomaster Flight instrument to display “True airspeed” or TAS. In this case a correction factor depending on your current altitude is applied.


Stratomaster Flight – rear view. Using the rev counter with a capacitive/inductive pickup

12 Volt battery

Brown wire (ground)

Conductive aircraft frame or busbar

Power switch

Shielded cable

Approximately 10 turns of cable core

Connect shield of cable to 12V supply ground at this point

Bleed resistor (see text for details)


In some cases it may be required to fit a bleed resistor as shown in the drawing. This resistor should connect between the rev counter input and the 12V supply ground. Resistor values may need experimenting as they tend to depend on your installation. We found values of 5 Kohm to 10Kohm to give best results. You might also want to experiment with the number of turns of the pickup wire if you have unsatisfactory results. Resistors can be obtained very cheaply at an electronics spares shop or at a TV repair shop. The simple ¼ W carbon film types are just fine. Please also ensure that your pickup will not “see” signals from the other sparkplugs by means of other ignition wires being close to your pickup. This may lead to unstable rev readings. In some bad cases you may get good readings if you replace the wrap-around wire pickup with a short section of thin tin or copper foil. Solder the center core of your cable into the foil and wrap the foil tightly around your ignition wire. Lastly, do not forget to calibrate your rev counter using the device setup menu. Here are some common setups: Two stroke single or dual ignition: 1 spark per revolution. Rev calibration setting 10. Four stroke single or dual ignition: 1 spark every two revolutions. Rev calibration setting: 5. Four stroke with pickup before distributor, four cylinder. Rev calibration setting: 20. Four stroke with pickup before distributor, six cylinder. Rev calibration setting: 30.

The previous drawing shows how to use the rev counter with engines that do not have a convenient pickup possibility for revs. This might apply to engines that to not have generators or accessible magnetos. The principle exploits the high impedance rev counter input of the Stratomaster Flight. Obtain a length of shielded cable (we recommend thin, flexible TV antenna cable or professional quality 75 Ohm thin video cable). Connect the one side core of the cable to the rev counter input and connect the shield to the 12V supply ground terminal. The other end of the cable should be stripped off the shield, exposing the core for about 7-8 inches (20 cm). Wrap the core tightly around one of the ignition cables and secure. The core must not electrically connect to the ignition cable. Note: if your ignition cable is shielded using an outer metal braid, this must be removed in the area where you would like to wrap the ignition pickup wire. For this reason we recommend wrapping the pickup near the spark plug or coil end of the ignition wire.


Stratomaster Flight – rear view. Emergency power supply.

12V Battery

PP 3 9V

Battery

Emergency power switch

Universal diode (see text)


The previous drawing shows how to wire an emergency power supply to the Stratomaster Flight. The emergency supply uses a standard 9V PP 3 battery which can be switched into the system if required due to failure of your main power supply. The drawing shows that you would use two switches to control power supply to the Stratomaster Flight. In addition to the two switches you need to install two diodes. These are required to decouple the two supplies should you place both switches in the “on” position at the same time. In effect the diode only conducts electricity in one direction (indicated by a line on the diode body as shown in the drawing). You can view a diode as “valve” for electricity. In the event of an unexpected failure of your aircraft’s power supply you can continue operating the Stratomaster Flight on the emergency power supply by simply flicking the emergency supply switch. Many suitable diodes can be used. These can be purchased very cheaply at electronic components shops or you could obtain them from a local TV repair outfit. The following is a list of commonly used diodes that can be used for this application: 1N4002 to 1N4007, 1N5002 etc. In principle you can use and silicon diode that can pass a minimum of 1A of current. Please be aware that a silicon diode drops about 0.7V. This means that the Stratomaster Flight voltage display will under read by 0.7 volts. Please take this into account when you use the voltage display to check the charge of your battery.


Stratomaster Flight - rear view. The LCD backlight

You can switch the back light of the LCD permanently off or on using the link setting on the rear of the Stratomaster Flight. Should you run the unit from a supply with ample power to spare we recommend leaving the back light on. If you do not have an aircraft power supply and are running the unit from a small battery you may want to leave the back light off. This results in the unit consuming about a third of the power that is used while the back light is on. As guideline, with the back light off and no external fuel flow and level senders you can operate the unit about 10-15 hours on a PP 3 9V battery (alkaline). A small 12V 2AH lead acid battery will give you twice that duration. Please view the specifications on power supply current requirements with and without back light.


Stratomaster Flight Factory default setup.

This document shows the standard setup that is programmed into the Stratomaster Flight. You should change it to suit your installation and operating requirements. Device menu: Accessing this menu is done as follows: After switching the unit on or from the main display, press and hold “menu” – then press “-“. After this use “+” and ‘-‘ to select your required item. Set ASI gain – as per calibration certificate Zero ASI,VSI

it is recommended that you perform this after installation. Switch your unit on, wait about 5 minutes and then select this function to reset VSI and ASI zero readings.

Set Altimeter – as per calibration certificate Set Fuel Flow

130, suitable for RS sender with jet installed Set Fuel Tank

45 liters, calibration to suit our test trike. You must perform the steps outlined in the owners manual to calibrate the readings to your fuel tanks if you will use the fuel level sender.

Set Rev Counter 60. Suitable for Rotax DCDI, grey rev counter wire.

Set T/O revs 5500. Minimum engine revs required to detect take-off.

Set Hobbs revs 2000. Minimum revs required for hobbs and maintenance counter. Also minimum revs for Student lesson time accumulation if in Instructor mode.

Set G/R revs 3500. Rev limit below which glide ratio is displayed in the rev field in case of active flight and aircraft descending.


Mode menu:

Accessing this menu is done as follows: After switching the unit on or from the main display, press and hold “menu” – then press “-“. After this select “Mode menu”. Then select the required item using the “+” and “-“ keys. Altitude ft/m Set to feet. QNH mb/inchHg Set to millibars (mb) Dist m/km/nm Set to statute miles (m) Fuel lt/gallons Set to liters Temp deg C/F Set to degrees C Engine temp sens

Set to “Has engine temperature sender”, for example if you use water cooled engines etc. Please disable this item if you do not use the engine temperature sender.

External temp sens Set to “Has external temperature sender”. Sender is included in kit. We recommend that You install this sender. Fuel flow sender Set to “Does not have fuel flow sender”. Fuel flow sender is optional and not included in basic unit. Fuel level sender Set to “Does not have fuel level sender”. Fuel level sender is optional and not included in basic kit, Please obtain a suitable fuel level sender from an automotive parts shop. Hour fraction mode

Set to “minutes”. Alternate setting shows decimal fractions of an hour for flight times and hobbs meter. Flight detect mode

Set to “manual detect”. This requires that you start and stop a flight using entries in the main menu. We recommend that you set this to “automatic mode”. This requires that you


Connect the rev counter. The Stratomaster will use revs and air speed as triggers to start a flight. Airspeed TAS/ASI

Set to “ASI”. Warning: setting this to TAS will result in the display of true airspeed. Please familiarize yourself with the effects of true airspeed readings, density altitude and the consequences this has on your aircraft’s stall speed. If you select TAS, we recommend that you place the decal “Warning: True airspeed” on the units front panel or a suitable place in your aircraft as warning both to yourself and other pilots. This decal is included in the kit.

Air distance setup Set to “manual reset”. The air distance display can be seen as a “trip counter” that accumulates distance flown through the air (not ground distance covered !). You can select to manually reset this counter or automatically reset the counter on the start of a flight.

Instructor mode Set to “normal mode”. In normal mode, every flight results in a log entry. In Instructor mode a “lesson” which may consist of multiple flights results in a single log entry. Please see “Owners manual” for details.

Lesson timer mode Set to “On hobbs revs”. In this case lesson time is accumulated on condition that a) A lesson has been started b) Engine revs are above the hobbs limit (set to 2000 unless you change it) c) The aircraft if in flight You can change this setting to “On Take-off revs”. In this case a lesson will start accumulating time according to the above rules only once take-off revs are exceeded, for example during the initial engine run up. (set to 5500 revs unless you change it). Engine running time before this event will not count towards the lesson.

Master/Slave mode' Set to “Master”. This setting is relevant if you install two Stratomaster Flight instruments in your cockpit, one for the pilot and one for the copilot. The copilot unit should be set to “slave” and the two units should be connected using the “airtalk” link. In this case each unit will follow the others QNH setting automatically, with the master having priority after switching the units on (The slave follows the master in this case).

User setup menu Accessing this menu is done as follows: After switching the unit on or from the main display, press and hold “menu” – then press “+“. Then select the required item using the “+” and “-“ keys.


Set date/time Use this item to set the units date and time. See Owners manual for details. Note: the unit uses a 24 hour clock. You should set the date and time whenever the unit has not been in use for a long time (internal, rechargeable battery may be low) or when you notice that the time has

drifted. Date and time are used for the flight and lesson log entries. Set hobbs meter

Set the hobbs meter to the current engine running time. The hobbs meter will count from this setting onwards, taking the setting of “hobbs revs” in the “Device setup menu” into account. The hobbs meter can count up to 9999 hours.

Set maint meter The maintenance counter counts down from a given setting in hours. The idea is to set the counter to a value in hours to the next scheduled maintenance time. For example you may elect to set the time to 50 hours after changing your spark plugs. The maintenance timer will count the hours to zero after which the next set of spark plugs is due. The maintenance meter has a range up to 250 hours.

Set A/C reg Use this function to set your aircraft’s registration number. The registration number is shown for a few seconds after you switch the unit on. You have 6 characters or symbols available and can use them any way you want.

Set altitude alarm Set to 12000 ft. If you operate your aircraft in an area where you have a maximum ceiling, set you ceiling here and you will get an alarm if you exceed that altitude. The ceiling is set in steps of 1000 ft.

Set temp alarm Set to 90 degrees C for a fitted Rotax water/oil temperature sender. Alarm will be activated if this setting is exceeded.

Set speed low alarm Set to 30 mph. Set this value to your minimum acceptable aircraft speed (ASI). If you fly at a speed below this the alarm will be activated. Note: This is NOT a stall warning.

Set speed high alarm Set to 80 mph. Set this value to just below your aircraft’s VNE. The alarm will be activated as you exceed this value.

Set fuel low alarm Set to 0 liters (off). Set this value to the minimum amount of fuel in your tank below which the fuel low alarm will be activated. This alarm works if you have either the fuel level sender installed and calibrated or if you have the fuel flow sender installed. Note: If you have only the fuel flow sender installed, you can obtain calculated fuel level by entering the amount of fuel currently in your tank(s) before you commence the flight. Please note that we recommend that you allow for a fuel reserve over and above the minimum fuel level entered here.

installation guide for the stratomaster flight digital aircraft instrument page 1

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