CiES Fuel Sender AML STC - JPI, EI, Auracle, Garmin

[fuellevel]

Well after loosing a few limbs and teeth  in the fight,  the most difficult STC I have ever worked on is finally done 

Basically every Mooney and every interface - save analog gauging is FAA approved both TSO and STC 

AML STC.pdf

[mike_elliott]

Congrats! To celebrate, do you want to donate a set to the Mooney Summit for our silent auction now that the STC is in place? Basically, every Mooney and every interface will be represented at the Summit this year, and it will be a great opportunity for you to get some traction with our community!

[Rmag]

Congrats!

[fuellevel]

Yes Mike, this year  I will donate a set or a rebate if the lucky Mooney owner has already purchased 

[carusoam]

Nothing like scoring well on an FAA exam!  

Congrats on the hard work.

Best regards,

-a-

[gsxrpilot]

And just in time, the CiES senders are being installed and connected up to the EDM-900 this week.  So thanks!

[fuellevel]

yes  - just in time for a lot of things 

[Bob - S50]

Congratulations.

It is interesting that they ask for your feedback about the process.  I wonder if they really want to know or is it sort of like somebody saying, "how are you?" without really wanting to know?  If you respond, it would be interesting to know what you tell them.

Bob

[NotarPilot]

I'd definitely like to know.

[StevenL757]

Scott, I can't tell you how happy I am for you to have passed this huge milestone.  Having been the first Mooney to officially have these installed, waiting for them hasn't been easy as you and I can attest, but now that I've been running with them for nearly a year, they certainly live up to the criteria you've talked about.  I can't understand why anyone wanting accurate fuel quantities would not want these onboard.  They're worth every d--- penny.

I know Andrew with the Socata gang has a bunch of excited owners who will want to follow suit, so looking forward to seeing how that plays out.

Again, congratulations, thank you, and we'll catch up soon.

Regards, Steve

[Oldguy]

Any chance you will be at SNF in a couple of weeks?

[fuellevel]

No,  we are not doing SnF this year.   I had to pick my battles,  so we are in Anchorage  at the Alaska Airman's Association - and we will be at OSH17   We have gotten quite s few Mooney systems out there in the past month - there probably will be one to ask questions of.   The Beech crowd (I know, I know)  has really taken this up - there will definitely be a few Bonanzas and Barons outfitted at SnF  

Poor Socata guys - turns out Socata used a French Car fuel sender - and surprise surprise - it is different than any other fuel sender used in the world and will require a new housing to work.   I also have to report to the interesting analog gauge.   

I will respond to the FAA - I had already expressed my concerns to Ross and his boss.   It is one thing when the system is brand new or brand new to certified aircraft.   But after 12,000 systems in the field,  on Cirrus aircraft reporting excellent results, there has to be a level of credulity that was not granted for this STC program.  The same goes for having been granted TSO    -   When you have to re adjudicate your case from square one - it doesn't allow easy integration of other modern systems into legacy GA aircraft.  

Given that we had a substantial Certified aircraft track record and a TSO - it should have been a slam dunk  and it wasn't.  My trip to the FAA just illustrated my point - we met several critical criteria by design and therefore no need to test - it wasn't obvious until  I showed them in person

 

[jamesm]

 what fuel level indicators are approved with your sending unit ?

Awe such wonderful things I have heard about dealing with  the Seattle FSDO  :-O 

 

James '67C

Edited April 1, 2017 by jamesm

[fuellevel]

Aerospace Logic,  Digital and Analog --------- JPI 900 and 930  --------   EI MVP & CGR ------- Garmin G1000

[jamesm]

Out curiosity  what does set of you Fuel Sender cost  for 67C  Mooney? 

What model / part number would I need  for a Mooney 67'C ?

Do we order from you directly or ??

Not sure I make a difference but I believe I 30 ohms fuel sender in there now.

 

Thanks,

James

[Awful_Charlie]

Very interested in how you cope with the attitude change for different IAS (and presumably weight/CofG) - I notice a change in indicated quantity between cruising at 110KIAS (normally in the flight levels) and playing the hooligan at 170KIAS (can only do that low down!), and I guess that is going to be more significant having recently added the long range tanks aft of the main spar

[Bob - S50]

PIREP.  We finally got the Cies floats installed and connected to our Aerospace Logic FL202 (resistance) gauge.

1.  Install.  Took quite some time and it's a good thing I have small hands and arms so could reach in through the inspection ports to run the power wire to the outboard senders.  Had to make a call to Scott to confirm a couple things.  a).  In the Mooney the float is installed upside down because of the bolt pattern.  b.)  Even though it is upside down, the resistance increases with increasing fuel because Scott makes adjustments to the float to make that happen.  c)  The manual does not show the wiring diagram for a 'resistance' gauge, only frequency and volts based.  Scott confirmed that I wanted the green volts output signal going to the gauge even though it was not a volts gauge.  Again, he had made changes to the unit to make it function properly.  So for me it went blue signal wire from the outboard connected to the gray input on the inboard and the green output from the inboard to the gauge.

Also, when installing the floats, pay attention to where the float will rest.  If you aren't careful, it might wedge itself against the side of a stiffener and stick.  I had to slightly bend the arm on the right wing outboard unit to keep it from doing that.

2.  Calibration.  Had one false start because the left inboard float apparently got stuck on the bottom of the tank.  After that it went pretty smoothly.  While adding the first 10 gallons or so, be sure to allow plenty of time to let the fuel you've added run through the weep holes to get all the way to the float.  It will take quite some time for the readings to stabilize.  Goes much quicker once you have more than about 10 gallons on board.  There is still a little dithering even when stable.  I just tried to figure out where the middle of the dithering was and push the button at that point.  Dithering was only about +/- 2 millivolts though.

3.  Ground reading to actual fuel conversion chart.  During this operation we noticed that the gauge did not change in .1 gallon increments, but rather in about .3 gallon increments.  Bottom line on the conversion chart, we didn't bother.  When all was said and done, on our J, for most fuel levels, actual fuel was usually within .5 gallon of indicated on the ground.  So we assume we have .5 gallon less than indicated for each tank.

4.  Flight.  Finally flew it yesterday, S50 (Auburn, WA) to BFI (Boeing Field) to ALW (Walla Walla, Washington), to S50.  In smooth air, rock steady.  Confirmed that it does in fact change in about .3 gallon increments.  At 9 GPH, that should be a change every 2 minutes or so.  Sure enough, that's what happened +/- 30 seconds or so.  In light turbulence, the readings stayed within one increment of actual.  That is, if the actual was 20.4 gallon, it might vary from 20.1 to 20.7.

5.  After landing, fuel movement during turns will give false indications, but that is to be expected.  However, once taxiing straight on level ground for about 30 - 60 seconds, I looked at the gauge.  It indicated 16.2 in the left and 18.8 in the right (35 total).  After parking I stuck the wings and found 16.8 in the left and 19.0 in the right (35.8 total).

I'm a happy camper.

Bob

[carusoam]

Great Pirep, Bob.

Best regards,

-a-