As Shadin Avionics prepares for a new chapter in their future products, they will be retiring a legacy product from their Fuel Flow Indicator product line: the Miniflo-L™. The indicator is one of three cockpit indicators that Shadin manufactures: the other two being the Digiflo-L™ and Microflo-L™ which will stay in production. Shadin’s Part 145 Repair Station still plans to support and repair the Miniflo-L™ as many of the products are still in use today and will be for years to come.
Launched in 1984, the Miniflo-L™ was a Digital Fuel Management System that was designed to provide complete fuel management information under real flight conditions without any manual entry of data (after entry of the initial fuel on board information). The Miniflo-L™ was connected to the engine fuel flow transducer for fuel flow information and to the Loran-C or GPS receiver serial port for navigation data (ground speed, distance, and estimated time enroute). This system was also capable of transmitting the fuel information to the Bendix/King KLN-88, KLN-90, and Garmin and Avidyne GPS navigation receivers, for additional calculations and display of fuel management data. The Miniflo-L™ was set up to measure the flow of fuel in either gallons, liters, pounds, or kilos, so it had the flexibility to be installed on virtually any reciprocating or turbine engine by selecting the proper size fuel flow transducer.
As the future of aviation relies more and more on electric aircraft and other sustainable fuel sources, Shadin is constantly evolving to meet the needs and challenges of the market. Shadin’s history will always be rooted in fuel flow systems, but the retirement of the Miniflo-L™ is necessary to usher in the next generation of exciting avionics products.
