Do we get too fixated on engine monitoring instruments?

Rwy20 wrote:

That may be true for a turbine aircraft, but if you want your piston engine to make or exceed TBO, you need to monitor CHTs and TIT (if it is a turbo). And getting meaningful values there is only possible with an engine monitor that measures each cylinder separately. Yes, once you have set everything correctly I don’t think you need to monitor all the gauges all the time, just the hottest CHT and TIT, and oil pressure would be values that can really alert you before something bad happens.

The CGR30P has master warning and master caution outputs for red and yellow sectors of the gauges

Neil wrote:

The CGR30P has master warning and master caution outputs for red and yellow sectors of the gauges

I only know the SR22TN and SR22T as planes with good engine monitor, and there you want to stay way below the yellow ranges for CHT and TIT if you don’t want to have to overhaul your engine too early. The yellow arc for CHT begins at 420°, but I wouldn’t want to have CHTs over 360 generally and would take immediate action approaching 380. The TIT warning starts at 1750°, but I wouldn’t want more than 1550° for continuous cruise.

Same for oil pressure; if it starts falling, I want to be alert and check nearest runways even before it reaches the yellow range.

Waiting for an alert to go off is not enough IMHO.

From the movie Mozart:

Emperor Joseph II: My dear young man, don’t take it too hard. Your work is ingenious. It’s quality work. And there are simply too many notes, that’s all. Just cut a few and it will be perfect.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Which few did you have in mind, Majesty?
-—————————————————————
Same can be said of the instruments in an aircraft.

But it should be. The alarms should be set at the right level, though, and the first “alarm” should really be a “hey, watch this” – hint.

For example, for the SR22TN, assuming you treat 380 as the limit (since you have some headroom for short-term excursions), the CHT display could be suppressed below 380. Likewise, the TIT could be suppressed below 1,600 (BTW – I don’t think TIT really matters that much for longevity). And oil pressure likewise.

Most of this probably driven by boredom in the cruise – gives us something to look at and fiddle with. Personally, if that happens, I switch of the autopilot and use the radar to find a nice TCU to fly into :-)

Most of this probably driven by boredom in the cruise – gives us something to look at and fiddle with. Personally, if that happens, I switch of the Autopilot and user the radar to find a nice TCU to fly into :-)

Cobalt, would you be so kind to tell in advance when and where you are flying? Because I have the same hobby and it would be a bit of a shame that we’d select the same CB and while having fun going up and and down the party is suddenly over and EuroGA would have 2 active contributors less in one go

Cobalt wrote:

Unfortunately, the actual products appear to be designed by geeks for geeks, who want to see everything….

That’s a feeling I often get too. Programmer oriented design, as opposed to what it should be, user oriented design.

Peter wrote:

Do we get too fixated on engine monitoring instruments?

Sometimes we do. For example RPM. I know pilots who get upset if the RPM isn’t exactly 2700 RPM on take-off. On a digital gauge 2680 looks wrong. They feel they don’t get the full take-off power they base their TODR calculations on. However on the analog gauge you would never ever see the difference. In fact the analog RPM gauge often has an error of 10-50 RPM. And that’s the gauge the aircraft is certified with…

As for EGT. They aren’t always accurate either and sometimes deviate from the norm due wiring/connection issues. Engineers have told me that as long as the CHT’s are normal, I shouldn’t worry and it’s probably a probe issue… I still am inclined to mention it to them everytime I see it.

There is a reason the MFD engine monitoring uses color bars….so you don’t get hung up on a single number, but watch the range.

The tach is a valuable instrument when instrument flying…it can be used to quickly determine climb and decent. The EGT and CHT instruments should be read as a group…looking for one out of synch with the others. For those with Hg, some use it to determine fuel burn (LOP, ROP) and relate it to engine temperature at various altitudes.

I plan to put an engine monitor in my cheap-o Rallye, now that my first annual, exceeding the purchase price of the plane, is coming to an end. Enough said.