During the early FAA certification of the GAMIjectors, GAMI came to know and hired Mr. Carl Goulet as a consultant DER to assist in the certification of the GAMIjectorŽ fuel injectors. A DER is a "designated engineering representative", one who has specialized expertise and has been authorized by the FAA to approve specific technical data. Throughout several certification programs Tim and George called on Carl to oversee and contribute his expertise to their efforts. Mutually, they agreed that having good data was the key to effective FAA certification, and so Tim and George focused on developing their capabilities in the best data acquisition possible. Carl had a long history of looking at engine data. After his graduation from Michigan State University with a Masters in Engineering in 1951, for 27 years, from 1952 to 1979, Carl worked for the aircraft engine manufacturer, Teledyne Continental Motors serving in various capacities including: Chief Stress Analyst, Component Development Engineer, Customer Service Engineer, and Vice- President and Director of Engineering. From 1979 to 1982, he worked as the Director of Engineering for Superior Air Parts, Inc then returned to Teledyne Continental Motors from 1983 to 1990 as their Manager of Commercial Programs.
Following his retirement from TCM, Carl worked as a consultant to several companies like GAMI, helping those companies with their challenges of FAA certification.
During GAMI's follow-on product research and development, it became clear that in order to better control the engine parameters to achieve improved operation, it would first be necessary to measure those parameters with improved methods and precision. Once that capability was developed, the acquired data would serve to support the FAA certification requirements and also to provide definitive evidence of the value of the modification in the aviation marketplace.
With that in mind, GAMI set out to understand the finer aspects of fuel-to-air ratios and their effect on internal cylinder combustion characteristics. Carl provided great insight to this "black art" from his experience looking at oscilloscope pressure traces. With great interest from Carl, Tim and George recognized the value of measuring these pressures in detail and developed the capability of recording these cylinder combustion events using new sensor and computer technology. During this R and D effort, George discovered that if the ignition timing in the engine could be made to control the combustion event by directly measuring the pressure, a truly closed-loop ignition system could be designed that would markedly improve engine efficiency! Eighteen months later, with many hours of operation on a small test engine in the back of the GAMI shop, GAMI's new PRISM Electronic ignition is now operating on a 285 HP aircraft engine in the new test facility. PRISM stands for Pressure Reactive Intelligent Spark Management.
GAMI is currently in the process of certifying (with the FAA) this new electronic ignition system for retrofit on general aviation piston engine powered airplanes. This ignition system, working on newfound principles of cylinder pressure peak location and fiber optic communication, provides the opportunity for significantly improved performance in both aviation engines as well as other engine applications. The "Carl Goulet" Memorial Engine Test Facility has been constructed in support of this certification program. The fully computer controlled test cell, utilizes the latest state-of-the-art technology in data acquisition, with capabilities not found anywhere else for measuring cylinder-by-cylinder power attributes, detonation, timing etc.. With this state-of -the-artcapability, the opportunity for learning even more about the internal working of these engines is anticipated with great enthusiasm.
We are proud to dedicate this facility in the name of Mr. Carl R. Goulet.
(580)436-4833
GAMI- 2800 Airport Road, Hangar A Ada,
OK 74820 USA