I believe the Fuel Flow meterb that several people have referred to is actually
the Benwick Fuel Computer, made somewhere in Cambridgeshire. The flow sensor is
the RS one mentioned on this forum. The price is L199 plus VAT but it is
possible some suppliers are discounting them. This item was reviewed by David
Dufton in one of the earlier issues of the Europa Flyer. I have actually flown
with one in my Shadow for about four years and can thoroughly reccommend it. The
maximum fuel flow that I recorded on the Rotax 447 engine was 25 litres per hour
(about 5.5 gals PH) with no signs of the mixture leaning off. Although a 447 is
considerably smaller than the 912 we propose to use, fuel consumption would not
be dissimilar as two strokes are much less efficient than 4 strokes. As a bonus,
the Benwick meter also records engine hours.
There has been some concern expressed over the fact that many fuel flow meters
rely on passing the fuel through a small orifice which would be liable to
blockage, however for it to work at all the flowmeter jet size would have to be
at least as big as the combined areas of the two main carb jets so any lumps of
muck that would be likely to block the flowmeter would almost certainly cause
problems in the carbs.
One answer would be to have a pressure monitoring system which would bypass the
flowmeter in the event of any abnormal pressure fluctuation but in any event the
real answer is to keep the fuel clean !
If anyone would like details on this item I think I have copies. E mail me.
Carl Pattinson
Kit 49 (G-LABS)
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