Imagine if for every app in your computer you needed a separate display screen – boggles the mind don't it? And yet, there are a large number of single and twin engine aircraft still flying that have one display gauge per sensor type.

When these planes were manufactured, digital technology either did not exist or was at a very nascent stage. This is not the case today so unless life means little to you and you are still flying an aircraft with its cockpit loaded with dozens of dials, now is the time to upgrade.

Replace all those dials and gauges with just one, or a few (depending on your budget), modern digital gauges that efficiently take over the function of all your existing gauges. For one, the advantage is that you won't have to constantly monitor so many different gauges (and fail miserably) and two, modern digital gauges coupled with modern sensors provide vastly more accurate information than your old gauges ever could and thirdly, the data is provided in a vastly more user-friendly way and comes with user-defined parameters.

The patented excuse that a cockpit with OEM dials and gauges looks better that the modern digital ones no longer holds true. Modern digital gauge especially the all-in-one multi-display Engine Data Management Systems (EDM), have nice multi-coloured display and readouts that actually make your aircraft cockpit looks futuristic.

Take the EDM 930 primary for single engine aircraft (or the EDM 930 for twin engines), manufactured by J.P. Instruments as an example; coupled with fast response probes, it is fully automated and offers hands-free, automatic scanning.

It is a front panel pilot programmable; incorporates the LeanFind™ technology to find the first and last cylinder to peak with true peak detect that successfully eliminates false peaks and displays both leaned temperature below peak and peak.

It has a battery voltage with alarm Amperes (load or charge/discharge meter), programmable alarm limits, Exhaust Gas Temperatures (EGTs) to stable 1°F resolution, DIF low to high EGT with alarm
EGTs to stable 1°F resolution.


Shock cooling monitored on every cylinder, user selectable index rate, Non-volatile long term memory, 30-hour data storage with post-flight data retrieval.

The EDM 930 primary includes Oil pressure, Oil temperature, Outside air temperature, Fuel level, Fuel Flow, Solid-state rotor fuel flow transducer, Fuel quantity in gallons, kilograms, litres, or pounds, Low fuel quantity alarm, Low fuel time alarm, GPS interface, Instantaneous fuel flow rate, total amount of fuel consumed, total fuel remaining, time to empty at the current fuel flow rate, RPM and manifold pressure, auto percent horsepower calculation, history of extreme values during previous flight, Hobbs® timer etc.

The EDM 930 can easily replace almost every dial and Slimline Pressure Gauge in your single engine aircraft. They have a similar version (EDM 960 Twin) meant for twin engine aircraft. By doing the engine monitoring for you, these new EDM’s put the pleasure of flying back into your aircraft. It’s definitely time to upgrade!