'Predictive Empty' Function Calculates Fuel Flow And Shows Estimated Time Left In Tank

A digital fuel gauge with new capabilities will begin shipping in late May from Belite Electronics. The gauge is capable of showing the current amount of fuel of any fuel tank, and will show that amount between 0 (empty) and 100% (full) on a large LCD display. It also calculates fuel flow of the active tank and displays the estimated time remaining before fuel exhaustion. It does not use a fuel flow sensor; all information is based on calculation of current fuel level, trailing fuel consumption and advanced mathematics. The only additional required hardware is a standard fuel sender, which may be conventional float resistive or capacitive sender.

The instrument is new from Belite Enterprises, which also sells the FAR 103 Belite UltraCub and Trike.

“Speaking as a pilot with over 1800 hours of experience in VFR, IFR and ultralight aircraft, I know that the number one background management task of pilots is the ability to monitor fuel level. I also know that aircraft owners want fuel level instrumentation that is absolutely reliable, easy to interpret and provides useful information. That is why I designed this digital fuel gauge to provide current fuel level, along with a display of average fuel flow and how much time is left before the tank will run dry. We believe this ‘Predictive Time to Empty’ feature is a breakthrough in this class of instrument,” said James Wiebe, CEO of Belite Enterprises.

The unit is designed to connect to either single or dual fuel tanks and is compatible with any type of resistive fuel sender (EG, standard 33 – 240 ohm senders) as well as capacitive senders.

Other key features of this new product include:

• Ultralow power consumption: Operating power consumption is around 1 milliamp. Standby power consumption is about 200 microamperes.
• Ultralight weight: 40 grams including electrical connector.
• Standard size:  Mounts in a standard 2.25” instrument cutout
• Optional mounting:  Directly mounts in any flat panel for even tighter and lighter panel configurations.
• Built in backlight: Usable with external panel dimmers or with internal dimmer selection.
• Selectable tank size: User input of tank capacity allows unit to also synthetically calculate fuel flow (based on 15 minute trailing average).
• Selectable full / empty settings: Allows user to align unit with tank’s sender characteristics.
• Wide power input: Compatible with any supply voltage from 8 to 14 volts.

It is priced at $249.95 and available directly from Belite Electronics and also from Aircraft Spruce. Part # DFGA-020R (for resistive senders), Part #DFGA-020C (for capacitive senders). First shipments are scheduled for May 30, 2013.

(Image provided by Belite)

FMI: www.beliteaircraft.com