There are a lot of different options for engine instruments. Until recently, light aircraft all used analog gauges (i.e. needles on dials). Analog gauges are easy to interpret at a glance - you can quickly see where the needle ispointing, and what colour range it is in. But, you won't notice a parametre that is not in the correct range until you glance at the dials. I fly a lot of modern business jets and airliners that have various types of active annunciation of parametres that are too high or too low. This means the pilot doesn't haveto constantly scan the engine instruments, because he will be alerted whensomething happens that needs his attention. I really wanted to have somesort of similar system in my aircraft.

I decided to go with a mix of "old" analog and "new" digital engine instruments. I'll have an analog tachometer and manifold pressure gauges, as these are the primary power setting parametres, and I want to be able to check them at a glance. The rest of the engine parametres will be displayed on a Grand Rapids EIS 4000 EngineInformation System. The EIS 4000 doesn't have the prettiest display, as itis a bit cluttered. But, you can set high and low limits on each parametre, and it will flash a big red light when anything goes out of limits.