background image

Introduction

The Blaze FLIGHT-3 is a compact, multifunction complete primary flight system intended as a main flight instrument on
smaller aircraft or as a backup / secondary flight instrument in larger aircraft. This 3 1/8”  (80mm)  instrument provides
many functions from an altimeter, airspeed indicator, VSI indicator, fuel level, fuel flow, RPM, volts, current display and
many more. The FLIGHT-3's light weight, small size and high level of functionality makes it an excellent choice for many
applications.

The FLIGHT-3 makes an ideal companion to the Blaze EMS-2 universal engine monitor for a compact, low cost yet highly
functional and complete cockpit solution.

The FLIGHT-3 has the following features:

Altimeter

The altimeter contains an internal high accuracy 24 bit digital altitude sensor which calculates altitude from -1500 ft up to
a maximum of +35000 ft. The FLIGHT-3 outputs various formatted RS232 serial data protocols compatible with serial in-
put transponders such as that from Garmin, Magellan, Northstar, Trimble, Microair etc. The altimeter can display altitude
in feet or meters and local pressure can be set in millibars or inches of mercury.  The FLIGHT-3 also provides a parallel
Gillham code interface when used in conjunction with the MGL Avionics CNV-ALT.

ASI (Airspeed Indicator)

Airspeed can be indicated in statute miles per hour (mph), kilometers per hour (km/h) or nautical miles per hour (kts). The
FLIGHT-3 also provides a programmable Vs and Vne airspeed alarm output. ASI sensitivity can be calibrated by the user
to cater for errors caused by pitot tube placement.

The FLIGHT-3 can measure airspeed from 20mph to 250mph and the FLIGHT-3HS (High Speed version) can measure
airspeed from 20mph to 320mph. Both are well suited to slower aircraft due to very good sensitivity and linearity at low air
speeds.

VSI (Vertical speed indicator)

The VSI indicator can be displayed in either feet/minute (ft/min) or meters/second (m/s). The VSI can be calibrated by the
user once the instrument has been installed in the aircraft.

Blaze FLIGHT-3
Blaze FLIGHT-3HS

Primary Flight Instrument

Operating Manual – English 1.01

Summary of Contents for Blaze FLIGHT-3

Page 1: ...ansponders such as that from Garmin Magellan Northstar Trimble Microair etc The altimeter can display altitude in feet or meters and local pressure can be set in millibars or inches of mercury The FLI...

Page 2: ...itate ordinary ATC time reporting Time is maintained by an internal lithium battery which can be replaced by the user Battery Voltage Current and Charge display The FLIGHT 3 can be used to monitor you...

Page 3: ...tenance Can connect to a flow sender or fuel injector system to measure fuel flow Standard automotive fuel level senders can be used even with odd shaped tanks due to a comprehensive multi point calib...

Page 4: ...y Control Up Down Enter Button Press the rotary control during the normal display screens to access the menu system Rotate anti clockwise for up down menu scrolling Rotate the rotary control during th...

Page 5: ...ement display if the current measurement is enabled The FE Fuel Endurance will alternate with the GPS NMEA speed value if enabled The text color will turn magenta if re ceiving valid NMEA GPS data VSI...

Page 6: ...l Endurance Fuel endurance is only shown if fuel level and fuel flow is enabled The fuel endurance will alternate with the GPS NMEA speed value if enabled The text color will turn magenta if receiving...

Page 7: ...r then the HOBBS RPM MNT Maintenance Timer This timer is set in engine hours and it will count down to zero when the engine RPM is greater then the HOBBS RPM value as set in the TIMERS SETUP A good us...

Page 8: ...in altitude above sea level We assume here that IAS RAS rectified air speed DA Density Altitude Density altitude is a perceived altitude that pertains to your current altitude and temperature and to a...

Page 9: ...ary control to navi gate through the menu system 4 1 Exiting the menu system Press the F1 Up button to exit the menu system when the EXIT soft key is shown All changes made during navigation of the me...

Page 10: ...detect a flight or whether the pilot must press the F1 Up button to start stop a flight We recommend you select automatic flight detection T O RPM This menu option is only shown if the DETECT flight m...

Page 11: ...n the top right hand corner of the display All calibration must be done in feet The combined adjustments cater for both the altitude sensors offset and gain Only start the calibration sequence once th...

Page 12: ...the installation has been completed The serial output will output specific altitudes which can then can be used to test the serial RS232 output and the parallel gillham output if using a CNV ALT conv...

Page 13: ...ation flight This should be done in very calm conditions Turbulence and thermal activity will make accurate calibration impossible Many areas have ideal conditions during early mornings or late aftern...

Page 14: ...or related electronics When this function is performed make sure that there is no air flow into the pitot tube as this would result in an incorrect internal cali bration ASI Unit Select if you want th...

Page 15: ...minimum safe speed for landing your aircraft Vs Alarm This enables or disables Vs Alarm Vne Alarm This enables or disables the VNE alarm Cal During the factory calibration a factor has been determined...

Page 16: ...arm High Alarm Enter the RPM threshold for when the high alarm must be activated Any RPM value above this value will activate the alarm High Caution Enter the RPM value for the high caution This is th...

Page 17: ...s per revolution A typical Rotax DCDI two stroke engine would generate 6 pulses per revolution The well known Rotax 912 914 engine generates one pulse per revolution Increment Select the step size bet...

Page 18: ...low mode jet installed and 1330 for the high flow mode no jet installed You can use the K Factor to calibrate your fuel flow sender See the installation section for more details on how to calibrate an...

Page 19: ...isplayed as a yellow bar on your fuel level display Low Alarm Select whether to turn the fuel tank 1 low level alarm on or off Low Alarm Enter your desired minimum fuel value that you would like to tr...

Page 20: ...evel sender reading at 0 Lt position Move the highlight to this position and wait until the sender reading has stabilized You will see the sender ADC reading at the top This could take up to a minute...

Page 21: ...ety factor for an aircraft and a very useful feature for peace of mind during cross county flights Notes on Slope error Sender value is a value determined by the FLIGHT 3 It is used to calculate fuel...

Page 22: ...or the high caution This is the lower value of the upper yellow band Low Caution Enter the voltage for the low caution This is the upper value of the lower yellow band Low Alarm This enables or disabl...

Page 23: ...High Alarm Enter the current threshold for when the high alarm must be activated Any current above this value will activate the alarm High Caution Enter the current value for the high caution Low Caut...

Page 24: ...osed Loop Current sensor disconnected from the main current supplying conductor Gain Adjust the gain factor until the current is reading correctly It will be best if a multimeter can be inserted in se...

Page 25: ...e for the high caution This is the lower value of the upper yellow band Low Caution Enter the temperature for the low caution This is the upper value of the lower yellow band Low Alarm This enables or...

Page 26: ...crements RTC Trim This allows you to adjust a trimming factor that will increase the accuracy of the built in clock SET HOBBS TIME This function allows you to set the engine Hobbs meter to any value T...

Page 27: ...s SET MAINT TIMER This function allows you to set an engine maintenance timer This timer is set in engine hours and it will count down to zero when the engine RPM is greater then the HOBBS RPM A good...

Page 28: ...ols use 8 databits no parity and 1 stop bit The message is outputted once a second Protocol Baud Rate Message format Example Garmin AT 1200 AL space five altitude digits right jus tified zero padded T...

Page 29: ...s Message type Length Data payload Checksum ETX STX Start of text 0x02 Address unsigned char 8bit Message Type unsigned char 8bit 0x0c Length unsigned char 8bit Length of the data payload does not inc...

Page 30: ...Manual Page 30 Checksum unsigned char 8bit XOR of all bytes starting from the unit address to the end of the data payload The checksum is seeded with 0xa5 does not include the STX or ETX ETX End of t...

Page 31: ...when using the automatic backlight mode The display will set the backlight to the dim setting if the ambient light is less then the threshold setting alternatively the display will set the backlight...

Page 32: ...ctory defaults 4 14 ADC Values This menu displays the ADC value that have been read from the pressure sensor 5 Loading factory default settings Press and hold the F1 Up button and rotary control durin...

Page 33: ...se the instrument will then have to be returned to the factory Hobbs Maintenance Timer CRC error Try entering new values for the Hobbs meter and Maintenance timer and see if the error message disappea...

Page 34: ...ss over the displays means that the FLIGHT 3 has lost communications with the external RDAC unit Check the wiring between the FLIGHT 3 instrument and the RDAC unit This error message is only shown whe...

Page 35: ...ter range 1500ft to 35 000ft 457m to 10668m Altitude units ft or m Baro Correction Range inHg 28 00 to 31 00 Hg Baro Correction Range mB 946 to 1050 mb Pressure units Hg or mb VSI VSI range 20ft min t...

Page 36: ...can be used to switch an external alarm indicator The external alarm switch is an open collector tran sistor switch to ground with a maximum rating of 0 25A DC It is possible to wire the alarm contac...

Page 37: ...ring the pre takeoff engine run up a very valuable check Further it is possible to set up the instruments to calculate fuel remaining by sub tracting fuel used from a value entered when you filled you...

Page 38: ...om turning freely you can verify the turning of the impeller You should notice three dark spots that are just visi ble in the inside of the fuel flow sender These are small magnets that are attached t...

Page 39: ...r responsibility to ensure that you have sufficient fuel to reach your intended destination Always ensure that you have a generous amount of reserve fuel and never use your reserve fuel except in an e...

Page 40: ...You need to enable these in the Fuel Setup menu We recommend using VDO float based fuel level senders Capacitive types can be used provided they have a voltage output not exceeding 5V The level termi...

Page 41: ...e ballast resistor must not be inserted for direct magneto pickups as the magneto pulse may have low energy in particular at idle After you have connected the RPM input terminals to the signal sources...

Page 42: ...ellow One of the two wires needs to be connected to ground engine block and the other to the RPM input 1 Insert ballast resistor Engines with magnetos UMA Tach Sensor T1A9 1 Slick T1A9 2 Bendix Connec...

Page 43: ...gnition system with conventional ignition coil Connect rev counter input of FLIGHT 3 to this line Ensure you have a connection from the FLIGHT 3 ground to the engine block Use the tacho line if your s...

Page 44: ...lation detects the passing of a magnet suitably fixed to prop flanges or shafts 10 9 2 Gear tooth sensor The gear tooth sensor is a popular pickup used on the pre rotation gear of a gyro plane rotor s...

Page 45: ...he 5V Sensor power output line is unprotected and intended only for the supply of a hall effect optical or gear tooth sensors Connecting any voltages such as the 12V supply to this line could destroy...

Page 46: ...FLIGHT 3 in order for this to work Select RDAC for the data source in the RPM SETUP or FUEL SETUP menus if using the external RDAC option The RDAC unit is optional and is purchased separately 10 13 C...

Page 47: ...h 5 RPM Filter Setting this dipswitch to the ON position default enables a high frequency filter in the RPM signal path Some installations direct coupling to a Magneto device for example will require...

Page 48: ...t the FLIGHT 3 ground directly to the battery nega tive This must be routed via the engine block 3 White Blue Stripe RS232 Transmit data Firmware upgrading 4 White Black Stripe RS232 Receive data Firm...

Page 49: ...Blaze FLIGHT 3 Operating Manual Page 49 11 Dimensions...

Page 50: ...d relevant pilot s license This person has to make themselves familiar with the operation of this instrument and the effect of any possible failure or malfunction Under no circumstances does the manuf...

Page 51: ...ASV 2HS Altimeter Airspeed ASI High Speed and Vertical Speed Indicator VSI EMS 2 Engine Monitoring System FF 5 Fuel Computer FLIGHT 3 Primary Flight Instrument FLIGHT 3HSPrimary Flight Instrument with...

Reviews: