Republic of the Philippines

PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS

INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
Piccio Garden, Villamor, Pasay City

Subject Module: AIRCRAFT INSTRUMENT SYSTEM

Subject Code: AMT 2102

Module No. 3

COURSE •Discuss the function and operation of engine instrument system

including tachometer, temperature indicator, fuel flow, oil pressure,
LEARNING fuel pressure, oil temperature, exhaust nozzle indicator and torque
system for efficient operation and testing for efficiency when flight.
OUTCOME (CLO)

MODULE •The students will be able to encounter and interpret how engine
instruments work like the: Exhaust Nozzle Indicating System and Engine
LEARNING exhaust Temperature Gauge
•The students will be able to demonstrate the operation of the engine
OUTCOME exhaust temperature gauge on small aircrafts.

•Elaborate the instruments inner operational functions and parts that is

TOPIC LEARNING necessary to inspect when checking instruments.
•Show and elaborate the Engine Instruments system and its actual
OUTCOME (TLO) indicators on the cockpit. Elaborate how engine exhaust, engine oil and
engine fuel differ from each other.

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AIRCRAFT INSTRUMENT SYSTEM FLEXIBLE MODALITIES
 Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
Piccio Garden, Villamor, Pasay City

WEEKS TOPICS/ ACTIVITIES TIME ALOTTED

Engine Instruments for Fixed Wing 1hour

Engine Instrument for Rotary Aircraft 1hour

Cockpit Designs 30mins

WEEK 3
Additional Panel 30mins

Activity 30 mins

Quiz / Recitation 30mins

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Engine Instruments for Fixed Wing………………….….4-9

2. Engine Instrument for Rotary Aircraft…………………9-11
3. Cockpit Designs…………………………………………………..12
4. Additional Panel………………………………………………..13-14
5. Summary……………………………………………………………..15
6. Activity………………………………………………………………..15
7. Honesty Clause……………………………………………..…….16
8. Reference…………………………………………………………….17

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AIRCRAFT INSTRUMENT SYSTEM FLEXIBLE MODALITIES
 Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
Piccio Garden, Villamor, Pasay City

LEARNING MATERIALS

To help you successfully completed on a productive fashion on this course, we

have included the following Learning Materials.

MODULES

This module includes a sequence of discussions; workshop activity at the end of

the topics; separate online assignments and quizzes through Google Classroom
(TBA), covering the key points of its topic and the separate Laboratory Exercises
Module. The key assignment questions and quizzes are put to assess your
understanding of the concepts discussed. Following confirmation of the activities
carried out, the answers for your clarification are provided. Other course
requirement for your interpretations and discussion will be present on the first
day of classes.

ASSESMENT CRITERIA:

Created a Rubrics through Google Classroom that shall serve as a basis for
evaluation of the Assignment and Quizzes given.

KEY LEARNING POINTS

Key Learning points are highlighted through the text and are designed to
emphasize particularly important issues and conclusions.

SUMMARY

Each topic ends with summary drawing together the main point of the content of
the topic

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AIRCRAFT INSTRUMENT SYSTEM FLEXIBLE MODALITIES
 Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
Piccio Garden, Villamor, Pasay City

I. Engine Instruments for Fixed Wing

The engine instrument supplies the pilot
information about the health of the engine
and how it is performing during the flight.
this information is also required to keep the
engine running within the specified
operating limits so that it will remain reliable
throughout its lifetime.

In a gas turbine engine, engine instruments

generally indicate fuel flow and temperature
indicators, as well as engine speed in
percentage of normal shaft speed (N1 and/or
N2). In a reciprocating engine, instruments
generally indicate oil pressure and
temperature, cylinder head temperature and
exhaust gas temperature for one (usually the
hottest-running) or sometimes all cylinders,
and sometimes manifold absolute pressure,
or MAP.
Engine-Indicating and Crew-Alerting System
(EICAS) found on a modern airliner or small
jet, which only displays the information the
pilot needs to see. This also replaces the
Annunciator panel found on older planes,
where a system failure triggers the
corresponding annunciator to illuminate, as
well as either the Master Caution if an
amber-colored annunciator is triggered, and
the Master Warning light if a red-colored
(critical) system annunciator is triggered.

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AIRCRAFT INSTRUMENT SYSTEM FLEXIBLE MODALITIES
 Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
Piccio Garden, Villamor, Pasay City

AMMETTER

The ammeter indicates whether the engine

alternator and circuit are operational. If a
continuous discharge is shown during
normal flight, it is prudent to land as soon as
possible as it would suggest that the battery
will shortly become too depleted to operate
normal aircraft systems. Remember that
aircraft engines will continue to operate as
their ignition spark is created by magnetos
which are independent of the aircraft
electrical system.

Aircraft are usually also fitted with a low

voltage warning light which is placed in a
prominent position. If a problem arises with
the charging circuit, it will begin to flicker
and then show red. The light may quite
normally flicker or show dull red at very low
RPM.

CYLINDER TEMPERATURE GAUGE

A Cylinder Head Temperature

gauge (CHT) measures the cylinder
head temperature of an engine.
Commonly used on air-cooled
engines, the head temperature
gauge displays the work that the
engine is performing more quickly
than an oil or water temperature
gauge.

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AIRCRAFT INSTRUMENT SYSTEM FLEXIBLE MODALITIES
 Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
Piccio Garden, Villamor, Pasay City

Exhaust Gas Temperature Gauge (EGT)

The EGT is the primary instrument to

help the regulation of the fuel/air
mixture. The red cursor indicates
temperature never exceed.

It is a meter used to monitor the

exhaust gas temperature of an internal
combustion engine in conjunction with
a thermocouple-type pyrometer.

Vacuum Gauge

Gyro pressure gauge, vacuum gauge,

or suction gauge are all terms for the
same gauge used to monitor the
vacuum developed in the system
that actuates the air driven
gyroscopic flight instruments.

This is usually a very instrument

situated at the lower left of the
panel. In monitors the condition of
the vacuum system which is driven
from the engine. The vacuum system
drives the gyros for the attitude
indicator and direction indicator.

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AIRCRAFT INSTRUMENT SYSTEM FLEXIBLE MODALITIES
 Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
Piccio Garden, Villamor, Pasay City

Engine Pressure Ratio (EPR)

Turbine engines have their own

pressure indication that relates the
power being developed by the
engine. It is called the engine pressure
ratio (EPR) indicator (EPR gauge). This
gauge compares the total exhaust
pressure to the pressure of the ram
air at the inlet of the engine. With
adjustments for temperature,
altitude, and other factors, the EPR
gauge presents an indication of the
thrust being developed by the engine.

Hydraulic Pressure

Numerous other pressure monitoring

gauges are used on complex aircraft to
indicate the condition of various support
systems not found on simple light aircraft.
Hydraulic systems are commonly used to
raise and lower landing gear, operate
flight controls, apply brakes, and more.

Hydraulic pressure gauges are often

located in the cockpit and at or near the
hydraulic system servicing point on the
airframe. Remotely located indicators
used by maintenance personnel are
almost always direct reading Bourdon
tube type gauges.

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AIRCRAFT INSTRUMENT SYSTEM FLEXIBLE MODALITIES
 Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
Piccio Garden, Villamor, Pasay City

Torquemeter (Turboprop Engines)

Only 10 to 15 percent of the thrust

produced by a turboprop engine is
from propulsive force derived from
the jet thrust exiting the exhaust.
Engine pressure ratio is not used as an
indicator of the power produced by a
turboprop engine.

Turboprops are usually fitted with a torquemeter that measures torque applied to
a shaft turned by the gas generator and power turbines of the turbine engine. The
torquemeter can be operated by engine oil pressure metered through a valve that
is controlled by a helical ring gear that moves in response to the applied torque.
This gear moves against a piston that controls the opening of a valve, which controls
the oil pressure flow. This action makes the oil pressure proportional to torque
being applied at the propeller shaft. Generally, transducer is used to transfer the oil
pressure into an electrical signal to be read by the flight deck instrument.

Tachometer

Gas turbine engine speeds are measured by

the engine’s rpm, which are also the
compressor/turbine combination rpm of
each rotating spool. Most turbofan engines
have two or more spools, compressor, and
turbine sections that turn independently at
different speeds. Tachometers are usually
calibrated in percent rpm so that various
types of engines can be operated on the
same basis of comparison.

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AIRCRAFT INSTRUMENT SYSTEM FLEXIBLE MODALITIES
 Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
Piccio Garden, Villamor, Pasay City

Also, turbine speeds are generally very high and the large numbers of rpm
would make it very confusing. Turbofan engines with two spools or
separate shafts, high pressure and low-pressure spools, are generally
referred to as N1 and N2, with each having their own indicator. The main
purpose of the tachometer is to be able to monitor rpm under normal
conditions, during an engine start, and to indicate an overspeed condition,
if one occurs.

II. ENGINE INSTRUMENTS FOR ROTARY

There is very little difference in the instruments and avionics used in

airplanes and those in helicopters. As a matter of fact, the general
avionics are exactly the same (instruments for altitude, attitude,
airspeed, radio and transponder equipment etc.). An instrument that is,
however, typical of helicopters is the engine and rotor RPM gauge,
which displays both values. The reason for this combined instrument is
that rotor RPM is a very important helicopter performance parameter,
and the engine RPM, of course, has a significant influence on it.

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AIRCRAFT INSTRUMENT SYSTEM FLEXIBLE MODALITIES
 Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
Piccio Garden, Villamor, Pasay City

Except some minor differences, both

helicopter and aeroplane cockpits are
very similar.

Basic flight instruments like air speed

indicator, altimeter and variometer are
completely the same for both types.

Instrument panel usually contains

basic flight and navigation
instruments, engine parameters,
transmission parameters, etc.

Helicopter cockpit configuration may vary between different models.

III.

The picture above represents a Bell 206 Jetranger main panel

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AIRCRAFT INSTRUMENT SYSTEM FLEXIBLE MODALITIES
 Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
Piccio Garden, Villamor, Pasay City

Torque Indicator
The main difference comes with engine
instruments like the main gear box
(MGB), intermediate gear box (IGB) and
terminal gear box (TGB) pressure and
temperature indicators.

The most significant difference which is

also very important for the flight safety
of the helicopter is the Torque
indicator.

RPM Indicator
Another very important gauge is
the RPM indicator. The RPM
indicator indicates the amount of
main rotor Revolutions Per
Minute (RPM).
The RPM gauge of a helicopter is
double functional instrument,
the short needle marked with
letter R and inner circle indicates
main rotor RPM; the long needle
marked with T and external circle
indicates engine turbine RPM.
Both have to be in the green area
during flight.

Helicopter rotors are designed to operate in a specific RPM range to create

necessary lift. If the RPM is lower than required, rotor blades would not be
able to create the required lift; if it is higher than required, it would result
in damage of rotating parts.

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AIRCRAFT INSTRUMENT SYSTEM FLEXIBLE MODALITIES
 Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
Piccio Garden, Villamor, Pasay City

II. A. COCKPIT DESIGN

There are two types of cockpit design:

TRADITIONAL COCKPIT
Traditional cockpit includes
lots of separate instruments.
This type requires a lot of
pilot attention by cross-
checking all the instruments
and observering parameters
one by one.
The UH-1H and Bell 206 Jet
Ranger are good examples of
traditional cockpit The picture above represents the UH-1H main panel
presentation.

GLASS COCKPIT

A glass cockpit is an aircraft cockpit that features electronic (digital) flight

instrument displays, typically large LCD screens, rather than the traditional
style of analog dials and gauges. For example, the AS532 and H135.

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AIRCRAFT INSTRUMENT SYSTEM FLEXIBLE MODALITIES
 Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
Piccio Garden, Villamor, Pasay City

II. B. ADDITIONAL PANELS

OVERHEAD PANEL
Depending on the helicopter type, the overhead panel usually includes light,
electrical, hydraulic and anti-ice sub-panels.

"NVG lights" means that this helicopter is designed for flying with Night Vision
Goggles with dimmed internal and external illumination.

The picture above represents the typical overhead panel layout of a UH-1 helicopter.

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AIRCRAFT INSTRUMENT SYSTEM FLEXIBLE MODALITIES
 Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
Piccio Garden, Villamor, Pasay City

INTERSEAT CONSOLE

Depending on the helicopter type, the interseat console usually includes

radio, Internal Communication System (ICS), fuel, GPS, Auto Pilot and
landing gear sub-panels.

The picture above represents the typical interseat console layout of a UH-1 helicopter.

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AIRCRAFT INSTRUMENT SYSTEM FLEXIBLE MODALITIES
 Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
Piccio Garden, Villamor, Pasay City

III. SUMMARY
Aircraft instruments are the various displays and dials in an aircraft that the
pilots use to allow them to understand where the plane is and what it is
doing. Pilots rely on these instruments, especially when they're tens of
thousands of feet in the air and might not be able to see anything because
of the clouds. But even if they could see, the earth is so far away that it is
extremely difficult to tell, for example, how your altitude is changing. You
can drop a long way before the earth starts to look any different. That's
where an aircraft's instruments become useful.

IV. ACTIVITY
Activity No. 1

Essay. Attach some pictures. Minimum of 100 words per question.

1. Choose one helicopter engine instrument and explain its use and
importance in aviation development.
2. Choose one fixed wing engine instrument and research for its
advancement in the past few years.

Activity No. 2

1. Choose and attach a photo of traditional fixed wing engine

instrument panel and name the type of aircraft. Label the
instruments included in your chosen panel.
2. Choose and attach a photo of a helicopter glass cockpit and name
the type of helicopter. Label the instruments included in your
chosen panel.

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AIRCRAFT INSTRUMENT SYSTEM FLEXIBLE MODALITIES
 Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
Piccio Garden, Villamor, Pasay City

Honesty Clause
This honesty clause establishes a fundamental social contract
within which the College community agrees to live. This contract relies
on the conviction that the personal and academic integrity of each
individual member strengthens and improves the quality of life for the
entire community. It recognizes the importance of honesty, trust,
fairness, respect, and responsibility and wishes these principles to be a
defining part of Philippine State College of Aeronautics

The Institute of Engineering and Technology values and fosters an

environment of academic and personal integrity, supporting the ethical
standards of the engineering profession, where we design and build for
the benefit and safety of society and our environment.

I agree that the submission of any academic work shall constitute a

representation on my part both that such work has been done, and its
submission is being made, in compliance with honesty and integrity.
Furthermore, my responsibility includes taking action when I have
witnessed or am aware of another’s act of academic dishonesty.

Students Name and Signature

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AIRCRAFT INSTRUMENT SYSTEM FLEXIBLE MODALITIES
 Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
Piccio Garden, Villamor, Pasay City

-END OF MODULE-

REFERENCES:

https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/phak/media/10_phak_ch8.
pdf

https://www.lavionnaire.fr/VocableInstVol.php

https://www.flight-mechanic.com/turbine-engine-instruments/

https://www.flight-mechanic.com/classifying-instruments/

http://www.pilotfriend.com/training/flight_training/fxd_wing/eng_inst.htm

https://www.aircraftsystemstech.com/2017/05/turbine-engine-instruments.html

https://www.cfinotebook.net/notebook/operation-of-aircraft-systems/vacuum-
systems#:~:text=Gyro%20pressure%20gauge%2C%20vacuum%20gauge,instruments%2C%20causing
%20gyroscopes%20to%20spin

https://www.aircraftsystemstech.com/2017/06/fuel-system-indicators.html

https://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Aircraft/Instruments,_Engines_and_Systems

https://mediawiki.ivao.aero/index.php?title=Helicopter_cockpit_presentation#Reference

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AIRCRAFT INSTRUMENT SYSTEM FLEXIBLE MODALITIES