More options from Optifuel

[Trikenut]

Lekka,
How does this differ from the MGL system?

[OptiFuel]

Lekka,
How does this differ from the MGL system?

I firstly would like to say that from what I have seen MGL produce a really high quality product and it is incredible the amount of different avionics instruments they produce and I will let you guys debate the pro's and con's. I would rather have the flying community appreciate what they have at their door step rather than compete with MGL over the few that decide to buy a fuel computer. We at Optifuel are not a general avionics manufacturer but only specialise in fuel management.

Having said this I would like to share some light on where we come from and what we can deliver:

A fuel management system compromises of the fuel computer and fuel flow sensor. Generally an avionics manufacturer will design the instrument and outsource the fuel flow sensor. With Optifuel our sensor is also manufactured in house which helps us deliver our basic unit at a ridiculously low price. I would like to see all pilots able to afford such an instrument and not have to take too much financial risk in trying something new that is traditionally regarded as a gadget and not a serious cross country flying instrument. With the Rand/Dollar exchange at the moment one could easily spend up to R6000 importing an instrument .

I designed the flow sensor years back for a UK company who specialises in water injection systems used on high performance turbo charged engines. The water injection is used to retard detonation thereby allowing more turbo boost in the the engine. If the water flow is not correct the boost is reduced thereby saving the engine from destruction. After it's success in metering water we decided to design a fuel flow version as well.

From the outset we designed the instrument with intelligent software to be able to cope with exponential sensor outputs. The instrument does not rely on linear flow outputs from the sensor(pulses from the turbine versus flow rates) but to get accurate results allows the user not only to adjust the basic ratio of pulses vs flow rate but also the exponential acceleration curve of the turbine output. That means that not only can you get accurate results at a fixed rpm/flow rate but also across the flow range if you like.

It does require some effort from the pilot though and we do not claim perfect results from the beginning of installation. Factory calibration values are just guide lines to get one started. We have a spread sheet that we ask the pilot to fill in at the beginning and send back to us so that we can advise what calibration parameters to use.So with a little interest from the pilot as to how much fuel was actually consumed compared to what the instrument says, one can get some really accurate results.

[Soldier]

Website doesn't work

Has website changed

[OptiFuel]

Sorry about that, the web site was in transition to another hosting company.

It is up and running again at www.optifuel.co.za

[johnsa]

We now offer more options for our fuel management system. If you want just the basic system without the GPS functionality and 914 kit, you can purchase the instrument including the flow sensor for only R1500 excluding VAT.

For more info please visit http://www.optifuel.co.za

Maybe its an to work together with the New Airplane Seen treat to give it even an higher local content. And maybe it should be a standard feature