October 2004
The saga of the Insight Instrument Corporation began in the winter of 1980. Engineer John Youngquist was flying a Bonanza on a night flight when the airplane’s engine began to run rough. It misfired and stumbled a few times while the existing panel instruments showed absolutely nothing out of sorts under the cowling.
With nothing factual to go on, Youngquist took a pure guess as to the length and breadth of his developing engine problems, then came up with a flight plan that matched his guesswork.
That particular flight worked out okay (it turned out to be simply a fouled plug), but the experience later caused Youngquist to think about ways to get more detailed engine operating information up on the instrument panel so a pilot could have some real-time data on which to base what could easily be crucial operating decisions.
What Youngquist decided to develop was a way for a pilot to get more insight into the actual operating innards of their piston-powered engines, yet to make the presentation easy to assimilate—that is, make it graphic.
During the summer of 1981, a radical new instrument appeared on the panel of his Bonanza—an experimental one-of-a-kind instrument with bright orange bars to graphically monitor what was happening, right now, inside each and every cylinder on the engine. By the end of 1981, the Insight Instrument Corp. had created its first product—the Model 602 Graphic Engine Monitor.
By 1983, GEM model 603—the same graphic orange bars with a digital numeric display added—was introduced. Continuing to build on their earlier success, the growing company branched out in 1986 to enter into the digitally based airborne weather avoidance system market.
In 1990, Insight created the Strikefinder SF2000. Utilizing the latest in computer technology, the Strikefinder was intended to be a reliable, accurate and lightweight sferics airborne weather avoidance system. Billed as “an electromagnetic signal detection and mapping system,” the Strikefinder would detect and analyze the electrical activity emanating from thunderstorms within a 200 nm radius of the aircraft and convert that information into an easy-to-read graphic cockpit display.
With its new Strikefinder off and running, the growing company then turned its full attention back to engine monitoring. In 1992, the Gemini 1200 Graphic Engine Monitor was announced. Built specifically for twin-engine aircraft, not only would this single instrument enable pilots to monitor both powerplants on a piston twin simultaneously, but the 1200 also included a wireless computer interface for programming and data-logging.
A year later, the GEM model 610 followed—a single engine version that contained all the advanced features of the twin-engine model 1200.
Recently, Insight announced that the legal paperwork trail for the GEM 610 and Gemini 1200 products that has more muscle to it. Both of these engine monitors are now approved by the FAA as primary replacement gauges, which means that owners can now legally remove those useless CHT, EGT and TIT gauges that originally came on the airplane and are taking up valuable panel space.
Back in 1994, an improvement to the original Strikefinder was offered wherein a heading stabilization system could be added to any Strikefinder. This self-contained module, using cruise missile technology, meant that Strikefinder users could have heading stabilization for their weather mapping display without the need for an expensive onboard slaved compass system and the cost of wiring an interface with the weather detection instrument.
Another improvement to the Strikefinders—one that is also offered as a retrofit for older units—was a brighter display screen to make daylight viewing even easier.
Insight continued to expand its general aviation offerings with the addition of the TAS 1000 Multi-Function Data Source. A compact digital air data computer, the company bills this newest product as “the essential component for your GPS system.”
The TAS 1000 is, in essence, a way of translating lots of information on a light airplane’s instrument panel from its original analog format into the digital codes necessary to make those inputs palatable to our modern electronics. Airspeed, altitude and air temperature sources are plugged into the back of the TAS 1000, and the unit then transforms those indications into the types of signals that the GPS can utilize.
With a TAS 1000 on the instrument panel, all sorts of magic is instantly available to the pilot. Accurate, real-time winds aloft is the biggest prize—and it is displayed on the map page of most modern panel-mounted GPS units, as well in a graphic version on a small, round instrument from Insight called a “Windicator.” Recommended to be mounted somewhere near the aircraft’s airspeed indicator, the silver-dollar sized “Windicator” uses a ring of illuminated LEDs so the pilot can see wind direction and velocity with no more than just a quick glance at the small gauge.
The TAS 1000 is also a fully functioning fuel computer, a “Static Air Temperature” (SAT) gauge, a density/pressure altitude calculator, a vertical speed indicator, an ISA temp readout and battery voltage monitor—to name just some of the available functions from the unit. It is easily customizable, too—right at the instrument face itself—so that owners can set it up to scroll through only the information they deem as relevant to their own operation.
For single-engine airplanes only, Insight offers their “True Flow 500″—a unique fuel flow computer that saves on installation costs and panel space when compared to standard fuel flow instruments. After being installed in the engine compartment, the unit is wired directly to a panel-mounted GPS. Fuel flow readout (and the resulting “fuel remaining” computations) are accessed on the appropriate page on the GPS display.
Other noteworthy items from Insight include some of their educational materials. The pilot’s guide for the Strikefinder not only includes some very easy-to-understand explanations on the hows and whys of the electronics themselves, but also a section on weather avoidance concepts.
Likewise, the “Pilot’s Guide to Graphic Engine Monitoring” is not only a comprehensive handbook on the company’s GEM series of Graphic Engine Monitors, but also contains lots of explanations on what could be going on inside the engine at various conditions and how that performance might appear on the instrument display. Insight has also produced a videotape called “Modern Engine Management.” The subtitle on the cover to the video—”Guide to engine operation and troubleshooting using EGT, CHT and TIT”—summarizes it very well.
While this particular video won’t be competing for an Oscar anytime soon, it does contain lots of good information that piston engine pilots should be aware of. Insight Instrument Corporation has come a long way in their nearly 25 years as they continue to evolve their older equipment and add new devices.
To quote the company, “Insight’s designers combine a thorough understanding of aircraft systems, technology and the cockpit environment to craft instruments that are finely tuned to the needs of the pilot. Mechanics and technicians recommend Insight products because they are easy to install and upgrade, and rarely need maintenance….Insight’s history of innovation and refinement are based on an endless cycle of research, development, manufacturing and quality testing….We work closely with our suppliers and customers to ensure the most efficient application of ideas and technologies to problem solving.”
Insight Instrument Corporation, Box 194, Buffalo, New York 14205. 905-871-0733. www.insightavionics.com.
