Stratomaster Enigma

[PR_Arecibo_DC]

I am in the process of getting a Mosquito XET and I need input from all of you in reference to the Stratomaster Enigma.... I used to fly a Cessna 172 with a G-1000 Glass Cockpit...was awesome...but this one I have no idea...

I will appreciate any input...

-If you ever flew with it; what you think?
-Pros/Con
-Features
-Reliability


Thank you
:help:

[Guy BOSTBARGE]

This is a good material.
I climbed on my tandem gyroplane can see pictures on my small site in French:

http://bostbarge.monsite.orange.fr/

On this site there is a link with the importer in Europe that gives as an example all the screens that I realized.

http://www.stratomaster.eu/lignes/mgl/wink/EN_Orion91.htm

If a transmitter-receiver is mounted must remove the antenna cables of the Enigma to avoid interference.

Guy

[troed@aon.at]

Better opt for the new Voyager-unit. Is a little bigger than Enigma, has a superbright screen for sunlight reading, is colour and gives You a full (not certified though) IFR-cockpit for almost no money.

Is very reliable (had a Stratomaster-unit working for 300 flight-hours w/o one single fault) and changed now to Voyager.

Merry Xmas

Angelo

[PR_Arecibo_DC]

Better opt for the new Voyager-unit. Is a little bigger than Enigma, has a superbright screen for sunlight reading, is colour and gives You a full (not certified though) IFR-cockpit for almost no money.

Is very reliable (had a Stratomaster-unit working for 300 flight-hours w/o one single fault) and changed now to Voyager.

Merry Xmas

Angelo

Angelo,

Thank you... I was considering move to the Voyager... But I still have to talk to the guys at Mosquito factory in Florida and ask them if the Voyager will fit... I hope it does... I went to their website and it looks awesome... and you did hit a good point I was worry about... The Sun light vs. the screen... I wasnt sure if that would be a big problem... While I was flying the Cesnna 172 witht eh G-1000 one bad thing I noticed was that everytime I use my Sun Glasses with Polaryzed lenses I wasnt able to see the screen clearly... the polarization of the lense would make the colors of the screen blury and almost imposible to see details... I wrote a letter to the company but they never reply back...

Thanks,

Jose...

[troed@aon.at]

Hi Jose !

Sorry, never tried the Voyager with polarized sunglasses since I have to wear glasses for nearsightedness on my flights (though shaded ones in bright sunlight). This You´ll have to try before purchase Yourself since I can´t guarantee the clarity with polarized shades.

Merry Xmas

Angelo

[ckurz7000]

Polarized sun glasses will almost always give you blurry and faded colors on LCD screens because polarized light is used to make the screens work.

-- Chris.

[Guy BOSTBARGE]

Concerning the right of the screen reading, we need the light is perpendicular to the screen.
I had planned a console with a dashboard vertical, I repeat in the tilting.

Merry Xmas

[PR_Arecibo_DC]

Thanks a lot for all the information guys... And Merry Xmas to all of you...
and here is a bit of my french Guy...I am rusty so is not perfect...

"Merci beaucoup pour l'info ... Avoir un très joyeux Noël et remplis avec leurs proches. Joyeux Noël ..."

Jose

[mgoroff]

I have an Enigma in my SparrowHawk. It is easily sunlight readable. The screen is nearly as good as the Voyager, though smaller. I'm very happy with it and highly recommend it. If you can fit a larger screen, go for the Voyager, but if not, the Enigma is hard to beat.

Marc

[PR_Arecibo_DC]

Marc,
Thanks for the Picture...
Can you modify the display to add more "gages"...? That is why I was looking into the Voyager... It has more space to add more gages... Plus the moving Map... That is one the options I like about the G-1000 I am looking in the Voyager... I really hate putting knee board and reading the charts from there... with the moving map it’s more comfortable...

Jose

[mgoroff]

Marc,
Thanks for the Picture...
Can you modify the display to add more "gages"...? That is why I was looking into the Voyager... It has more space to add more gages... Plus the moving Map... That is one the options I like about the G-1000 I am looking in the Voyager... I really hate putting knee board and reading the charts from there... with the moving map it’s more comfortable...

Jose

The Enigma is fully programmable, just like the Voyager. It would be a little crowded to add more gauges to the primary screen, but I'm not sure what else you would want. On my primary screen I have:

rotor RPM, engine RPM, ASI, Alt, VSI, gps ground speed, gps track, distance to waypoint, time to waypoint, heading to waypoint, OAT, hobbs, flight and local time, fuel level, calculated fuel, oil pressure, oil temp, coolant temp, egt left and right, fuel pressure, fuel flow, time to fuel exhausted, and probably something else I'm forgetting. There are 9 screens that can be switched between with a single key stroke. On two other screen I've put various sized moving maps and I can't think of anything good to do with the other 6 screens ;).

You can download a simulator for the Enigma and the Voyager from the MGL web site and play with them on your PC. I suggest you give them both a try and see if they will meet your needs. There's a very active yahoo group for MGL avionics with lots of info.

Marc

[PW_Plack]

Guys, a brief off-topic thought.

Polarized lenses are not recommended for aviation use (http://www.faa.gov/pilots/safety/pilotsafetybrochures/media/sunglasses.pdf), because they make it more difficult to spot approaching traffic, decrease instrument visibility, and can cause lines to appear in some Lexan windows. They also are of limited effectiveness for flying, since the polarization is intended to cut glare which is much more common on the highway.

A better bet for flying is the unpolarized amber lenses, sometimes sold under the name "BlueBlocker." These are much more effective for knocking down haze, and improving visibility when you're facing the sun or other bright objects. The downside is that they distort colors somewhat, although I usually have mine off when flying in conditions which require lights to be on.

The FAA's favorite is gray lenses, because they distort colors the least. They aren't very good at helping with haze or glare.

[greeny]

I have an Enigma in my SparrowHawk ..
Hi Marc

You seem to use a moving map display on your Enigma. I intend to install one of these (in fact I ordered an Enigma and 3 Infinity instruments, but they have not arrived yet).
Now, I understand that MGL products do not use the graphic formats of commercially aviable electronic maps.
Where did you get your maps from? I read the MGL online manual but didn't find it really useful.

Peter

[Guy BOSTBARGE]

Regarding the maps for Enigma, europe site provides explanations and programs to download for this.

The English page is:
http://www.stratomaster.eu/desktopdefault.aspx?panelid=69&tabindex=15&tabid=193
Have you a GPS antenna?

Good test
Guy

[B8MFlorida]

I'm thinking of going with the new(soon to be released) Dynon EFIS. Seen, both the Enigma and Dynon at Oshkosh.

[mgoroff]

Hi Marc

You seem to use a moving map display on your Enigma. I intend to install one of these (in fact I ordered an Enigma and 3 Infinity instruments, but they have not arrived yet).
Now, I understand that MGL products do not use the graphic formats of commercially aviable electronic maps.
Where did you get your maps from? I read the MGL online manual but didn't find it really useful.

Peter

MGL makes available a conversion tool called mapmaker to go from commonly available formats to their internal format. I buy digital sectional charts in tiff format from the FAA for $1.60 each and then use the MGL mapmaker program to convert for the Enigma. It's a simple process. If you can't buy a digital version of the chart you want, you can scan them and use that as the starting point in the process.

If you use vector chart mode, you can download the database files from MGL. Given that the gyro is flying low and slow, I prefer the raster mode sectional charts.

Marc