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MGL Stratomaster XTreme EFIS
This low cost unit is based on a 4.2" sunlight readable, wide viewing angle, high resolution LCD display. It integrates SD card reader, function buttons, rotary control, display and a 65 channel high performance GPS system (aerial supplied).
Able to connect to existing engine sensors (or add additional sensors) via an optional MGL RDAC module mounted in the engine bay. Will also connect to the SP-7 AHRS module and SP-6 compass. Without these senors the horizon will still work by using software based GPS track derived information and the displayed heading is the GPS track. All the above modules, with prices and descriptions, can be found on our website HERE
The XTreme is designed to fit a standard 3.1/8" round instrument hole. The body is located off-centre allowing the unit to replace instruments on the right side of a standard 6-pack configuration or any other location that currently occupies two instruments.
Due to the light weight and very low mounting depth no complicated mounting brackets or trays are needed. Power use is low and operation from much less than 12V to around 28V is fully supported without further items required.
The XTreme breaks new ground in current un-certified (experimental/ permit to fly) EFIS technology as it is a universal platform and can run many different MGL application programs, much like you can do on a home computer by installing different software. This means that functionality is not fixed to what you have at the time of purchase (like a Dynon EFIS). There will be upgrades to existing application programs, and it is likely that entirely new applications, that extend the area of functionality into new regions, are posible in the future for this remarkable, highly flexible unit.
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In a nutshell, what do you get for £960.00 ?
For £960.00 you get the XTreme instrument, wiring harness, GPS aerial, OAT probe, 2Gb SD card and pitot/static fittings. This is a very comprehensive flight instrument since the internal GPS and software will allow the horizon to work very effectively up to about 30 to 40 degrees of bank, and heading is also provided by the GPS. The only areas that don't function are balance ball, G-force and wind speed and direction (you need the SP-6 and SP-7, see 3rd paragraph below). If all you need an artificial horizon for is the ability to keeps wings level in poor visibility and execute a 180 degree turn to get out of trouble, then this is a very complete, low cost solution.
To enable the EMS engine monitoring functions you need to add an engine module (RDAC) and install it inside the engine bay, usually on the firewall. You will probably want to monitor CHTs, EGTs, oil T&P, RPM, Fuel Flow, Fuel Level, and possibly even Coolant Temp. You can monitor and display up to 6 cylinders. The RDAC for this level of functionality is the RDAC-XF, which is £228.00, but we also have a cheaper 4 channel unit suitable for Rotax 912 and other small engines. It cost £149.95. Whichever RDAC you choose, it simply connects to the EFIS via a single supplied cable, so no bulky wiring harness to accommodate through the firewall, and hooking it up to the engine is easy because you are able to mount it in a convenient position. The RDAC and XTreme will interface to virtually all senders fitted to any engine, and we can supply the additional senders you may want. We have a couple of alternative RDAC units for more engine sender flexibility, so if you want to measure something else, for instance manifold pressure, we can almost certainly accommodate it.
If you require the higher performance artificial horizon afforded by solid state gyros, then the SP-7 unit simply connects to the XTreme and is remotely mounted somewhere within about 2ft of the centre of rotation and close to the centre-line of the aircraft. The SP-6 will provide the compass, and it is best located away from anything magnetic or ferrous, usually 9" is sufficient distance. The software will calibrate-out any small discrepancies, so no need to be too paranoid about location. It can be mounted side-by-side with the SP7 (or it can be mounted anywhere, even in a wing tip if necessary) and it can share the data cable and power feed. The SP-6 compass is £189.00 and the SP-7 gyros is £499.00.
The internal GPS, as mentioned earlier, will drive the horizon display. It also gives you the ground speed and there is a database installed covering the whole of Europe for waypoint-to-waypoint navigation.
The SD card is used to record "black box" information and a flight log. The data can be downloaded later from the card and displayed on a PC. The SD card is also used for firmware updates, which are free.
In 2014 a firmware update enabled the XTreme to act as an autopilot. You need to add MGL servos and an SP-7 AHRS module for this to work.
The XTreme will monitor flight and engine parameters and provide clear warnings should anything stray from the user's pre-set levels. The Groppo Trail (see photos below), which recently (2011) went through its flight trials with the LAA, has an XTreme fitted. The LAA test pilot, John Brownlow, actually passed comment about it in the official flight test report. This is the paragraph from the Flight Test Report...
"MGL Avionics EFIS Display
The MGL Avionics EFIS displayed a very clear visual warning in red, in the screen centre as low indicated airspeeds were approached. This was the first EFIS display used by the test pilot that gave such a dominant warning. The warning was assessed as a most useful safety benefit."
To sum-up, the XTreme may appear to be similar to the baby Dynon but it offers so much more, in a smaller, much lighter package. The technology employed by MGL is largely state-of-the-art, whereas I think it is fair to say that the baby Dynon is now, by electronics standards, long-in-the-tooth. At first glance this is instantly apparent just by comparing the clarity, definition and brightness of the screens. In this respect the XTreme is remarkable. Numerous visitors to our MGL Avionics display at the Sywell LAA Rally, Aero Expo and The Flying Show commented very favourably upon that aspect.
It's also remarkable in many other ways - please call me, Paul, on 02892667187 to discuss.
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Engine Monitor Screen Mixed Flight & Engine Screen
Horizon Flight Screen Mixed VFR screen |
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GPS Waypoint Navigation
The XTreme displays the navigation information as an HSI display.
Heading:
The yellow bar at the top points to your heading.
Compass Rose:
The compass rose is the 360 degree circle around the HSI in 5 degree steps.
Heading Bug:
The 2 yellow lines indicate the heading bug. The heading bug can be adjusted in the quick select menu system.
Course Selector:
The magenta arrow (Indicating that the information is coming from the internal GPS) points in the direction which you must fly in order to reach the active waypoint.
CDI (Course Deviation Indicator):
The centre line of the Course Selector moves off the middle to indicate which direction you must fly in order to stay on the
the original coarse.
Under the HSI you will find the short name of the active waypoint, plus:
ETA: Estimated Time of Arrival.
ETE: Estimated Time En Route.
TRK: GPS ground track.
DTW: Distance to waypoint.
CRS: The current set course to the active waypoint
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And now for the detail:
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Hardware
Powerful ARM processor
4.3” high resolution 480x272, sunlight readable, wide viewing angle, 600 nits TFT LCD display
LED backlight (brightness can be adjusted for low light flying conditions)
Fits standard 3 1/8” aircraft instrument panel hole
SD Card interface for data recording, user splash screens, checklists, graphic information pages, firmware upgrades etc
1/8” NPT female fittings for Altitude and Airspeed pitot tube connections
1x RS232 communication port
1x MGL Avionics Airtalk communication port
1x MGL Avionics RDAC communications port
1x CAN communication port
Rotary control plus 5 independent buttons for easy menu navigation and user input
External alarm switch output for an external indicator lamp etc
Built in 50 Channel GPS receiver with over 1 million effective correlators with high immunity to jamming
Time To First Fix (TTFF) of less than 1 second
External active GPS antenna connection
Support for an internal or an external GPS receiver
Built in RTC (Real Time Clock)
Wide input supply voltage range of 8 to 30V DC
Built in voltage reversal and over voltage protection for harsh electrical environments
Light weight design
EFIS:
Attitude display, requires SP-7 or SP-5 for full AHRS. Or attitude can be displayed using the internal GPS flight path (GPS calculated bank and pitch angles) - no cost option.
Magnetic heading indication. Note (2)
Heading bug
Precision altimeter from –1000ft up to a maximum of 30 000ft (-304m to 9144m). Altitude can be displayed in ft or m
Altitude bug
Airspeed indicator (16mph to 250mph), 1mph resolution. Airspeed can be displayed in mph, km/h or kts
Digital VSI indicator (+/-20 ft/min to +/-10 000 ft/min) and analogue VSI indicator (+-2000 ft/min range). VSI can be displayed in ft/min or m/s.
Serial Altitude encoder output via a RS232 port
Density altimeter
OAT (Outside Air Temperature) display using an external OAT probe
Supply Voltage display
Stopwatch timer
Automatic flight timer
RTC (Real Time Clock)
Glide and climb ratio indicator
Barometer (actual local pressure)
TAS (True airspeed) display
G-Force indication. Note (1)
Wind speed and wind direction indication. Note (2)
Turn Indicator. Note (1)
Slip/Skid indicator. Note (1)
Waypoint navigation
Nearest waypoint display
Engine Monitor
Engine Monitor: Note (3)
1x Engine RPM
1x Rotor RPM
1x Manifold pressure
1x Oil pressure input
1x Oil temperature input
2x Auxiliary analogue channels (Pressure/Temperature/Current)
12 Channel EGT/CHT display
2x Fuel Flow
2x Fuel Level
Programmable maintenance timer for scheduled routine engine maintenance
Engine display screens are automatically configured to optimize screen space depending on what
parameters are been displayed
Settable Hobbs meter (password protected)
Fuel range / endurance based on TAS or GPS ground speed
Supply Voltage display
Current monitor to measure charge/discharge currents. Note (4)
Engine leaning feature
General
Alarms on most displays
Programmable maintenance timer for scheduled routine engine maintenance
Programmable airframe timer for scheduled airframe maintenance.
Records maximum and minimum values of most displayed values
Built in black box recorder – records all flight data, engine, attitude and GPS data to SD card. Data can be
exported to Google Earth, Microsoft Excel, etc.
Includes a 1000 entry automatic flight log (Records start date & time, flight time, pilot number, Hobbs time,
maintenance time, max altitude, airspeed and VSI reached during the flight)
User configurable start up (Splash) screen
Unlimited configurable checklists
Unlimited configurable graphic information displays
Automatic or manual local magnetic variation
Dual menu system for quick item selection and user setups
Sunrise/Sunset calculator
Firmware upgrades via SD Card
Vertical Power VPX support (5)
CO Guardian CO monitor support (6)
3 year limited warranty
Notes
(1) Requires optional MGL Avionics AHRS sensor unit (SP7/SP5)
(2) Requires optional MGL Avionics compass sensor unit (SP6)
(3) Requires optional MGL Avionics RDAC unit
(4) Requires optional MGL Avionics current monitor sensor
(5) Requires Vertical Power VP-X Generation 2 unit
(6) Requires CO Guardian Aero-452 CO monitor unit. |
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Xtreme fitted to the Trail demonstrator
Graham Smith, of Sprite Aviation, has chosen the Xtreme for the Trail demonstrator aircraft. This is a VLA permit aircraft with a MAUW of 520Kg. It's fitted with the100 hp Rotax 912s and the MGL Xtreme mini EFIS.
See the Sprite Aviation website for more details.
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Xair Hawk Panel, and close-up. Thanks for the pics Nick
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Jodel D18 - thanks for the pic Geoff In a Pitts Special biplane - thanks for the pic Steve
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For even more information visit the MGL Avionics Website |
 More photos of the XTreme in customers' aircraft on our Facebook page. |
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