Better the mileage, longer the distance you can fly and consequently, greater the pleasure. Ever since the Wright brothers first flew their plane, figuring out maximum range for your aircraft has always been guesswork. Between then and now science and technology has made such strides that one would have thought that designing an instrument that helps calculate your fuel consumption and consequently the range, would have been a breeze.

It is not just calculating the range before the actual flight that is the problem; during flight too there can be lots of unexpected factors that result in higher fuel consumption. So what is your new range? Looking at the fuel gauges with their bouncing needles that bob in synch with the floats in the two wing tanks is not exactly helpful.

Well, guess what, the long wait for an instrument that provides you with precise fuel consumption data is over. J.P. Instruments of Huntington Beach, California, USA, has designed just such an instrument. It is called the FS-450 Fuel Totalizer.

Pilots who have installed the instrument swear that the Fuel Scan 450 fuel totalizer relegates fuel-situation anxieties to aircraft history. It constantly displays your aircraft’s current fuel-consumption on the top of two bright LED displays and that’s not all it does.

The FS-450 fuel totalizer also displays total fuel consumption since engine start, how much is left in the tanks and how long it would last at current setting. As if that were not enough, it also displays the quantum of fuel needed to reach your next waypoint and how much fuel would remain at the point and also, the fuel efficiency of your aircraft (GPS connection required).

Yup, the FS-450 fuel totalizer can hook-up with your Skymap or most other GPS systems. When connected to an Aircraft Gauges Systems, the FS-450 manufactured by JP Instrument will calculate fuel to waypoint, reserve at waypoint and Nautical Miles per Gallon. At the price of fancy GPS nav and weighting at less than half-pound, this instrument is definitely worth adding to your aircraft’s instrument cluster.

About J.P.Instruments:

Founded in the mid 80’s by Joseph Polizzotto, J.P.Instruments has been manufacturing speciality aircraft instruments that add real-time information to your instrument cluster – information of the kind that was until now not available.

Their star instruments include Slim Line Gauges Systems, intelligent Aircraft Fuel Flow Instruments, GPS moving maps and so on.

Some the aircraft instruments developed by J.P.Instruments include:

1. EGT or CHT Kit,
2. CHT gasket M-113-3/8 probe,
3. TIT Probe,
4. RPM sensor to EDM-700/730 Slick or Bendix,
5. OIL pressure sensor to EDM-700/800 and 730 PN 306018, Manifold pressure PN 604010 for EDM-700/800 and 730/830 series,
6. Oil Temperature 1/8 NPT thread PN 400505,
7. Oil Temperature 5/8-18 thread Primary PN 400509,
8. Primary Series Fuel Pressure Non-Turbocharged,
9. Primary Series Fuel Pressure, Turbocharged upper/lower deck pressure,
10. Primary Series Manifold pressure, Oil Pressure