Aircraft Systems

Airspeed Indicator This instrument shows the current airspeed of the aircraft in nautical miles per hour. The green arc is the normal operating range. The bottom of the green arc is the stalling speed with flaps up. The bottom of the white arc is the stall speed with flaps fully extended and the top of the white arc is the maximum speed with full flaps. The yellow arc is the safe range only when in smooth air. The red mark is the speed that should never be exceeded. Note that airspeed is the speed of the air hitting the aircraft and is usually different from ground speed.
Attitude Indicator This instrument shows the current relationship (pitch and bank) of the aircraft to the horizon. The orange lines represent the aircraft wings. The blue area represents the sky and the brown is the earth. In this example the aircraft is flying level (neither climbing nor descending) but is banking to the left. The AI is powered by the vacuum system and gets it's readings from a built-in gyroscope.
Altimeter This instrument shows the current aircraft altitude or height above sea level. It gets it's reading from the static system and must be adjusted to the current air pressure setting for accuracy. If the pressure setting is unknown it may be sent to the airport elevation before takeoff.
Turn Coordinator This instrument shows the rate and quality of a turn. The rudder pedals are used to adjust the yaw of the airplane and maintain coordinated flight which is indicated by the black ball being centred as shown here
Heading Indicator This instrument shows the direction of the nose of the airplane and is much easier to read than the magnetic compass. It is powered by the vacuum system and must be set to the magnetic compass before takeoff and periodically during level flight to maintain accuracy. The orange tab is a heading bug that may be coupled with an autopilot if the aircraft is so equipped.
Vertical Speed Indicator This instrument shows the rate of climb or decent in hundreds of feet per minute. It gets it's information from the static system. The needle shown here on the zero means the aircraft is neither climbing nor descending
Tachometer This instrument shows the revolutions per minute of the aircraft engine just as in an automobile, however the tachometer is much more important in flying. Many aspects of aircraft performance may be predicted at given RPM settings.
Magnetic Compass This instrument is simply a wet magnetic compass. It has no external power source so it could be used in case of other instrument failure. It is susceptible to turning and acceleration/deceleration errors while the aircraft is moving. And therefore is not generally used in the real time navigation of the aircraft but as a reference to set the heading indicator
VOR, Glideslope, Localizer This is a navigational instrument that can be tuned to ground-based electronic beacons called VORs (Very High Frequency Omnidirectional Range) or to an ILS(Instrument Landing System) which allows a precision approach to a runway. The precision approach involves lining up both the vertical needle(localizer)and horizontal needle (glide slope) on final approach to guide the aircraft down to the runway on the proper angle. The typical configuration in an aircraft includes two of these instruments, one with glide slope and one without.
VOR Receiver This is a navigational instrument that can be tuned to ground-based electronic beacons called VORs (Very High Frequency Omnidirectional Range). It can also be tuned to an ILS (Instrument Landing System) however this unit shows no glide slope information and therefore can be used for a "localizer only" approach. The typical configuration in an aircraft includes two VOR instruments, one with glide slope and one without.
Automatic Direction Finder The ADF is a navigational instrument that can be tuned to ground-based electronic beacons called Non Directional Beacons(NDB). Most NDBs are on or near airports. When tuned to a specific beacon, the ADF needle always points toward
Vacuum / Ammeter The vacuum gauge show the pressure created by the vacuum pump which is needed to operate the Attitude Indicator and Heading Indicator. The Ammeter indicates the quality of the alternator/charging system..Note that these two items are often displayed with separate gauges depending on the model/year of the aircraft
Fuel Quantity Most small aircraft have two fuel tanks, one in each wing. This gauge indicates the level of fuel in each tank. Unlike an automobile, these gauges are used only as a cross-check. Pilots are trained to calculate their exact fuel consumption before a flight and leave a reserve of at least 30 minutes for daytime and 45 minutes at night
Exhaust Gas Temperature / Fuel Flow To get proper performance from an aircraft, the fuel flow must be "leaned" at altitude to compensate for the decrease in air density. This gauge helps the pilot lean the fuel for best efficiency. Note that some aircraft do not have this gauge and must be leaned by watching the Tachometer while slowly adjusting the mixture control.
Oil Temperature / Pressure Gauge This instrument monitors the temperature and pressure of circulating oil in the aircraft engine.
Clock / Thermometer Clock / Timer / Inside & outside temperature.
Hobbs Meter This is basically a timer which runs when the aircraft engine is running. It is the equivalent of an odometer on an automobile. The Hobbs meter is how aircraft rental charges are calculated and maintenance schedules are kept.
Audio Control Panel This unit selects which radios you are transmitting and/or receiving on. This unit shown also incorporates marker beacon lights (OMI) - Some do not.
GPS or LORAN Some aircraft are equipped with a GPS(Global Positioning System) or LORAN(Long Range Navigation System). GPS uses satellites and LORAN uses ground based transmitters to calculate and display the aircraft's exact position
NAV/COMM Radio Actually two radios in one. The left side is for voice communications with Air Traffic Control, other aircraft and listening to weather and airport information. The right side is for tuning in VORs & ILSs to be displayed on the VOR instruments. This model has the flip-flop feature - you dial in a frequency in standby, the press then white<> button to activate that frequency.
ADF Automatic Direction Finder) Tunes in the NDB frequency displayed on the ADF instrument
Transponder This unit sends a signal to the Air Traffic Control radar which displays your position and altitude. Aircraft that have not been assigned a 4 digit” squawk" code by ATC should use 1200.
DME (Distance Measuring Equipment) Some aircraft are equipped with DME which displays the distance to a specified VOR/DME beacon.

The airplane is all metal, four-place, high wing, single engine airplane equipped with tricycle landing gear and is designed for general utility and training purposes. The construction of the fuselage is a conventional formed sheet metal bulkhead, stringer, and skin design referred to as semimonocoque. The entire structure is covered in aluminium skin.

The airplane’s flight control system consists of conventional aileron, rudder and elevator control surfaces. The control surfaces are manually operated through cables and mechanical linkage using a control wheel for the ailerons and elevator, and rudder/brake pedals for the rudder.

The single-slot type wing flaps are extended or retracted by positioning the wing flap switch lever on the instrument panel to the desired flap deflection position. The flaps can be positioned at 10, 20 or 30 degrees.

The landing gear is of the tricycle type, with a steerable nose wheel and two main wheels. Shock absorption is provided by the tubular spring steel main landing gear struts and the air/oil nose gear shock strut.

Effective ground control while taxiing is accomplished through nose wheel steering by using rudder pedals. When the rudder is pressed a spring loaded steering bungee (which is connected to the nose gear and to the rudder bars) will turn the nose wheel though the arc of approximately 10 degrees each side of the centre. By applying either left or right brake of turn this may be increased up to 30 degrees each side of the corner. The minimum turning radius of the airplane, using differential braking and nose steering during taxi is approximately 27 feet.

The airplane is equipped with a two bladed, fixed pitch, on pierce forged aluminium alloy propeller which is anodized to retard corrosion. The propeller is 76 inches in diameter and is allowed to be reduced to 75 inches (1/2 inche either side).

The airplane is powered by a horizontally opposed, four cylinder, overhead valve, air-cooled, fuel-injected engine with a wet sump lubrication system. The engine is a Lycoming Model IO-360 and is rated at 180bhp at 2700rpm. Major accessories include a starter and belt driven alternator mounted to the front of the engine, a dual magnetos, dual vacuum pumps, and a full flow oil filter mounted on the rear engine accessory case. The exhaust gas temperature (EGT) indicator is located on the LH instrument panel. Since the exhaust gas temperature varies with the fuel-air ration (mixture), density altitude, throttle position and RPM, the instrument is a useful aid in adjusting the mixture for best economy performance. The EGT indicator allows the pilot to lean (reduce the proportion of fuel in the fuel-air mixture) to a known value using the maximum or “peak” exhaust gas temperature as a reference. Never lean using EGT when operating more than 75% power. The EGT system uses a thermocouple in the engine exhaust (tailpipe) to supply a voltage proportional to exhaust gas temperature. The EGT indicator responds to the voltage developed by the thermocouple. As the mixture is leaned (from full rich), the exhaust gas temperature will increase to a maximum valve as the stoichiometric (most chemically efficient) fuel-air ration is achieved and will decrease if the mixture continues to be leaned. Engine ignition is powered by two engine-driven magnetos and two spark plugs in each cylinder, the right magneto fires the lower right and upper left spark plugs, and the left magneto fires the lower left and upper right spark plugs. Normal operation is conducted with both magnetos due to the more complete burning of the fuel/air mixture with dual ignition.

Ignition and starter operation is controlled by a rotary-type switch located on the left switch and control panel. The switch is labelled clockwise, OFF, R, L, BOTH and START. The engine should ne operated on both magneto (BOTH position) except for magneto checks. The R and L positions are for checking purposes and emergency use only.

The engine air induction system receives ram air through the intake on the lower portion of the engine cowling. The intake is covered by an air filter which removes dust and other foreign matter from the induction air. Airflow passing through the filter enters an air box. The air box has a spring-loaded alternate air door. If the air induction filter should become blocked, suction created by the engine will open the door and draw unfiltered air from inside the lower cowl area. An open alternated air door will result in an approximate 10% power loss at full throttle. After passing through the air box, induction air enter a fuel/air control unit under the engine, and is then ducted to the engine cylinders through manifold tubes.

Exhaust gases from each cylinder passes through riser assemblies to a muffler and tailpipe. Outside air is pulled in around shrouds which are constructed around the outside of the muffler to form heating chambers which supply heat to the cabin.

Ram air for engine cooling enters through two intake openings in front of the engine cowling. The cooling air is directed around the cylinders and other areas of the engine by baffling, and is then exhausted through an opening at the bottom aft edge of the cowling. No manual cowl flap cooling system control is required.

The airplane is equipped with a 28-volt, direct current electrical system. The system is powered by a belt-driven, 60amp alternator and a 24-volt battery located on the left forward side of the firewall. Power is supplied to most general electrical circuits through a split primary bus bar, with an essential bus wired between two primaries to provide power for the master switch, annunicator circuits and interior lighting. Each primary bus bar is also connected to an avionics bus bar via a single avionics master switch. The primary buses are on anytime the master switch is turned on, and are not affected by started or external power usage. The avionics buses are on when the master switch and avionics master are in the ON position.     The ammeter/vacuum gage is located on the lower left side of the instrument panel. It indicates the amount of current, in amperes, from the alternator to the battery or from the battery to the airplane electrical system. In the event the alternator is not functioning or the electrical load exceeds the output of the alternator, the ammeter indicates the battery discharge rate. An annunicator panel is located on the left side of the instrument panel and provides caution (amber) and red (red) messaged for selected portions of the airplane systems. The annunicator is designed to flash messages for approximately 10 seconds to gain the attention of the pilot before changing to a steady on. The annunicator cannot be turned off by the pilot.

The temperature and volume of airflow into the cabin can be regulated by manipulation of the push-pull CABIN HT and CABIN AIR controls. Both controls are the double-button locking type and permit immediate controls.

Front cabin heat and ventilation air is supplied by outlet holes spaced across a cabin manifold just forward of the pilot’s and co-pilot’s feet. Rear cabin heat and air is supplied by two ducts from the manifold, one extending down each side of the cabin to an outlet just aft of the rudder pedals at floor level.

Windshield defrost air is also supplied by two ducts leading from the cabin manifold to defroster outlets near the lower edge of the windshield. Two knobs control sliding valves in either defroster outlet to permit regulation of defroster airflow.

Separate adjustable ventilators supply additional air; one near each upper corner of the windshield supplies air for the pilot and co-pilot, two ventilators are available for the rear cabin to supply air to the rear seat passengers. There are additional ventilators located in various positions in the cockpit.