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Enigma 1st flight screen shots on a slideshow...

Nice!

Looks like a nice setup! I'm a little confused about the speed markings under what appears to be the Wind-Direction indicator. On one picture it said 227.

I can't wait for the larger screen version to come out (Voyager). Do you have any full panel pics?
 
More info...

I haven't fully set up the system yet.

I had issues with the oil pressure and temps before installing the Enigma, I think the problem is a grounding issue and also specifying the correct sensor type.

I haven't setup the wind speed indicator- it requires a magnetic deviation for your location. I haven't looked that piece of info up yet.

In short-

-the 3d terrain worked for our mole hill landscape.
-the HITS (highway in the sky) worked great!
-the GLS (GPS based ILS- I don't have a SL-30) approach works as advertised
-the daylight visibility was excellent (even with very dark shades on)
-the screen refresh was a NON-ISSUE; movement was very smooth.
-the Enigma will show local airport runway directions, numbers, ID, and distance on your artifical Horizon in flight- very cool feature. You can see it in some picts.

The flight planner is lacking, but under development. With all the other features- it really is icing on the cake though for the price.

The MGL Avionics Enigma system requires a little more attention if you intend to get the full value out of the system, but I have spent 30 hours on a retrofit and it is working as advertised! What remains is more of an issue of my probes and local settings than anything regarding the hardware.
 
To get the wind speed and direction working ensure the following:

a) Magnetic heading is correct (i.e. compass is giving a good heading).
b) GPS has a valid fix (this will probably be the case, we need true GPS heading and ground speed).
c) You have correct airspeed indicated.

You do not have to do anything as far as variation is concerned. Check on the GPS info page that the system is showing your local variation. For this to be possible, you must have set the date to at least the correct year. Enigma contains a full model of the Earth magnetic field and how it changes over time so it can work out variation for any location on Earth at any time.

Recommend to set your compass to "3D Gyro" mode as you have the SP-4 connected - then it can give you valid magnetic heading even during turns (The default 3D accelerator mode may result in heading errors during turns).

If you are using the 1.0.0.7 software and have installed one of the new screens from our screen library (with the roller tapes), the wind speed and wind direction will not show if either compass or GPS is not providing data.

The wind speed and direction works as follows:
Take magnetic heading from compass, work out true heading using local variation. Calculate difference of this to GPS ground track. Take true airspeed and calculate difference of this to GPS ground track speed.
Throw both values into arcane maths formula and out pops desired wind direction and speed.

Don't forget to set how you want this to show - relative to aircraft heading or relative to north, select this in "Navigation setup".

Enjoy !

Rainier
CEO MGL Avionics

jcmcdowell said:
I haven't fully set up the system yet.

I had issues with the oil pressure and temps before installing the Enigma, I think the problem is a grounding issue and also specifying the correct sensor type.

I haven't setup the wind speed indicator- it requires a magnetic deviation for your location. I haven't looked that piece of info up yet.

In short-

-the 3d terrain worked for our mole hill landscape.
-the HITS (highway in the sky) worked great!
-the GLS (GPS based ILS- I don't have a SL-30) approach works as advertised
-the daylight visibility was excellent (even with very dark shades on)
-the screen refresh was a NON-ISSUE; movement was very smooth.
-the Enigma will show local airport runway directions, numbers, ID, and distance on your artifical Horizon in flight- very cool feature. You can see it in some picts.

The flight planner is lacking, but under development. With all the other features- it really is icing on the cake though for the price.

The MGL Avionics Enigma system requires a little more attention if you intend to get the full value out of the system, but I have spent 30 hours on a retrofit and it is working as advertised! What remains is more of an issue of my probes and local settings than anything regarding the hardware.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
"Glary" display

The slideshow is interesting but at the same time there's a lot of glare/reflection like garmin handhelds have.
 
I didn't know you were over there snapping pictures! Guess I was too focused on maintaining altitude. :)

It looks really good JC.
 
glare was from flash on camera-

lucky said:
The slideshow is interesting but at the same time there's a lot of glare/reflection like garmin handhelds have.
Click to expand...

I noticed that too, but it was from the tiny camera flash- not the display.

The display is very sunlight readable...
 
I flew later...

DaX said:
I didn't know you were over there snapping pictures! Guess I was too focused on maintaining altitude. :)

It looks really good JC.
Click to expand...

I downloaded an updated flight ops and went flying again to see if that worked out and snapped a bunch of pictures then...
 
Full panel photo?

JC,
I'd love to see a full panel photo or two of your remodeled cockpit.

Brian Vickers, RV4 finishing
Enigma installed by not flying yet
 
Enigma getting better every day.

I've been flying a ton lately- which leaves little time to work on the plane.

I found a leak in my static airpressure line which solved some mysteries.

I mounted my AHRS combo on the floor of the RV7- not a great idea, too much vibration. I need to move it or isolate it better.

I installed the fuel flow sensor- it ROCKS! I need to 'hone in' the K factor to be more precise, but it really is close right out of the box.

I installed the RPM gizmo suggested by MGL head cheese- it took a little tweaking (only take out the AC ballast)- but it reads both very steady and the response is very reasonable.

I still need to DOWNGRADE the gps map info- it literally picks up every unknown grass strip out there- too much info for me. BUT, good news, you can narrow the data to just the size of strips you want to see. I'm getting used to using the Enigma and the Garmin 196 hand in hand.

I don't use the Enigma for flight planning at all- the Garmin is still WAY better at this point. Admittedly, I haven't spent a lot of time on it, however. I do use the HITS, but I usually don't use it at altitude.

I have a few mistakes in my screen designs- which is entirely pilot error, but I haven't had time to get back to it and fix it. I use about 4 screens mostly, but I am trying to define my needs better each time I fly. So the custom screens is a BIG plus.

The screen display is very good, responsive, bright, no issues there.

I haven't wired in the audio- waiting for the COMS to come out to replace mine.

The only issues I have is with the SD drive not loading 100%- eject and re-insert fixes ALWAYS, and the OPS not loading EVERY time I start the Enigma (sometimes I have to restart).

For the money- it's a WHOLE lot of bang for the buck.

ONE MORE BONUS- upgrading to the bigger systems is pretty straightforward. Keep the AHRS combo and all the other wires- change the box.

NEXT- install the dual servo TRUTRAK AP, install a MGL COM and MGL NAV/COM. Buy a Garmin 396/496.

Thumbs up for the Enigma.
 
Thanks for the review, JC. My original panel was going to have Dynons and a Garmin 396/496, but I changed my mind after seeing all the features in the MGL products. I don't want to buy a handheld GPS, so I'm hoping that the Voyager (Odyssey) flight planning and GPS will be able to easily take it's place (and be intuitive & user friendly). I haven't read that part of the Odyssey user manual yet, so I don't know what to expect. ;)
 
THANKS for the update report.

Couple of questions:
"I installed the fuel flow sensor- it ROCKS! I need to 'hone in' the K factor to be more precise, but it really is close right out of the box."
?Which fuel flow transducer?

"I don't use the Enigma for flight planning at all- the Garmin is still WAY better at this point."
?What do you mean by flight planning? I like to plan the flight off the device and then load the flight/route. Seems like the Enigma is much better in this case, as the off-line flight planner is aviation based using the same maps & data as the Enigma itself, and you can then just carry the SD card to the plane. All you get with Garmin is Mapsource (non-aviation map & data) and then you need serial or USB link to load the flight/route.

"I mounted my AHRS combo on the floor of the RV7- not a great idea, too much vibration. I need to move it or isolate it better."
Please keep us advised on this location & isolation. It needs to be near the rotational axis of the aircraft, I believe.
 
Last edited:
GrayHawk said:
THANKS for the update report.

"I don't use the Enigma for flight planning at all- the Garmin is still WAY better at this point."
?What do you mean by flight planning? I like to plan the flight off the device and then load the flight/route. Seems like the Enigma is much better in this case, as the off-line flight planner is aviation based using the same maps & data as the Enigma itself, and you can then just carry the SD card to the plane. All you get with Garmin is Mapsource (non-aviation map & data) and then you need serial or USB link to load the flight/route.
Click to expand...

The basic idea is to use a PC or (or perhaps you are using one of the PocketPC based systems) to do flight planning. However, basic routes can be entered in Enigma directly. Pick waypoints either from existing waypoints or create new ones on the fly.
Odyssey has the flightplan/routes planning under revision (currently they are similar to Enigma) as more screen area and more user controls are available. This makes it easier to put a nice plight planner directly into the system.

The interface to PocketFMS flight planner is well advanced now as well, I'd suspect a first public release in January some time (this is for Enigma and Odyssey).

Apart from that there are many free or low cost flight planning tools out there that can export routes in the public "GPX" format. These can be used directly with Enigma/Odyssey as well but with slightly limited functionality as waypoint types are not defined in a consistent manner in GPX. The Enigma waypoint format contains "functional" waypoints for example altitude change/setting waypoints, speed change/setting etc. These are mainly intended for SID/STARS and other IFR stuff for the future.

Rainier
CEO MGL Avionics
 
i bought the MGL fuel flow transducer- little plastic guy; works great inline with a fuel filter from spruce!

in my humble opinion, a 396 or 496 is a great asset in the cockpit. that neither here nor there- the Enigma flight planning tools don't work for me. I flight plan, and then OFTEN change waypoint mid flight to adjust for weather conditions. I haven't been able to edit routes inflight (safely) like I can 'point and goto' on the garmin.

I have no doubts it will get better- it's simply a newer feature on the Enigma and needs some development. I am happy to wait until after MGL get the black box COMS and NAV?COMS out on the market! :)

I'd love to use my Jeppsens AOPA flight planner if that was possible???
 
"....... like I can 'point and goto' on the garmin. "

Don't know about trying a route change in-flight; I'll try it on the simulator. But you can easily 'point and goto' with the MGL products, possibly even easier than Garmin (less total key strokes).

"I'd love to use my Jeppsens AOPA flight planner if that was possible??? "

This is up to Jeppesen. I looked at their flight planner and they seem fine; but looks like the only way to carry the flight plan to the airplane is via paper. There is an emerging open standard for exchange of GPS data called GPS Data eXchange or GPX (.gpx). This is a robust XML based format for exchange of all kinds of GPS data between devices and programs. Perhaps Jeppesen should embrace this standard and allow saving the route as a .gpx file. Then it could be loaded into either a Garmin or an MGL product.

Personally, I want an ethernet connection on the plane. That way I could pre-load charts, maps, routes, etc while its sitting in the hangar, before the flight.:)
 
GrayHawk;185589 "I'd love to use my Jeppsens AOPA flight planner if that was possible??? " This is up to Jeppesen. :)[/QUOTE said:
Well, let me tell you about Jeppesen.
We contacted them first about two years ago. We first dealt with the U.S. branch which seemed fine and very helpful. Then they discovered that we are not in their hemisphere and had to hand us over to Frankfurt/Germany as they are responsible for dealing with us. What followed was a case study in what can only be described as the most inefficiant and unhelpful organization we have sofar dealt with. It takes months to answer an e-mail. The person you are dealing with is either on holiday or at some exibition or whatever. We got absolutely nowhere except getting the comment that "Enigma is a nice name of historical importance". Eventualy I gave up.
We are now dealing with them in the U.S. again via our U.S. based operations but they are for now on the second burner - we are putting all effort into PocketFMS as we feel this is more relevant for our kind of flying, is cheaper for the user, has a 2 hour update cycle and you can contribute your own airfield/airspace/whatever at any time, right down to a little private strip if you like. This has allready resulted in a great database for Europe and many other countries and it is starting to catch on in the U.S. as well.
With PocketFMS you can download a free flight planner for a windows or pocket PC and you can register for a free one month access to all data (ALL of it, World wide). You can become a volunteer if you want to take care of submitting and maintaining data for your area (in this case you are don't have to pay for your subscription). If you just want to have continued data access you enter into a subscription which is currently set at 150 Euros/year for anytime access to all data. More details on this at www.PocketFMS.com

Once PocketFMS is complete (we are expecting release of this in January), we will tackle Jeppesen once more.

Rainier
CEO MGL Avionics
Click to expand...
 
Hi Rainier,
Aside from 3rd party flight planning software, what is the capability of Voyager/Odyssey in this regard? Can you give a quick overview of how one would program the EFIS before flight, and then make changes in flight (beyond the simple "go to nearest" list)?

I'm not looking for a volume of data...just reassurance that using the EFIS for this will be easy without the need for 3rd party apps.

Thanks!
 
lostpilot28 said:
Hi Rainier,
Aside from 3rd party flight planning software, what is the capability of Voyager/Odyssey in this regard? Can you give a quick overview of how one would program the EFIS before flight, and then make changes in flight (beyond the simple "go to nearest" list)?

I'm not looking for a volume of data...just reassurance that using the EFIS for this will be easy without the need for 3rd party apps.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Currently very much like Enigma.
However, this is about to change (and so will Enigma to some extent).
Two new developments regarding flight plans are being done now, mainly with a view to Odyssey and related instruments.
The first is "Live flight plan" which is pretty much what it says. A flight plan that gives you live updates to arrival times, fuel burn, taking current or supposed wind speeds and directions into account. This also allows insertion of "ad-hock" waypoints into the current leg for diversion.
The second is effectively an upgrade to the current Enigma type route editor where you can insert waypoints, add them or create a route from scratch.
This functionality is being moved into the map viewer facility making it easier to graphically design a route (flight plan) on the instrument itself.

Rainier
CEO MGL Avionics
 
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