Andy Meyer pilots experimental aircraft pilot and was in need of a good engine monitor to show key metrics on a sunlight readable screen.

After struggling for years with an Arduino-based project, Andy discovered Teensy and paired it with a NewHaven 4.3 inch 800×480 serial display…and it was all blue skies from there!

The current solution is based around a Teensy 3.6 with eight Type K thermocouples plus analog pressure and temperature sensors.

Oil temperature and pressure, manifold pressure, engine timing and RPM, are all currently measured and output to a 3.5″ capacitive touch display. Fuel flow, airspeed, altitude, and other values from the plane and GPS are also incorporated, with outputs for warning lights and a dimmer. Data is also logged to the onboard mSD card.

In true maker fashion, Andy designed the boards in Upverter and fab’d them through OSH Park, and designed the housing in OnShape and printed it on his Prusa i3 MK3. The inspirational finished product (for now!) can be seen mounted in the cockpit below.

Andy’s journey to make this engine monitor and many of the challenges are explained on this forum thread.