Patent ID: 8015962

Claim:
An aircraft engine assembly, comprising: a crankcase assembly having a crankcase housing and a crankshaft disposed within the crankcase housing, the crankshaft having a first end disposed in proximity to a propeller-mounting portion of the aircraft engine assembly and a second end disposed in proximity to a rear portion of the aircraft engine assembly, the second end opposing the first end; and a detection system having: a pickup element mounted to the second end of the crankshaft, the pickup element operable to rotate at the angular velocity of the crankshaft, wherein the pickup element comprises: a base supported by the crankshaft; and a plurality of teeth disposed on the base, each tooth of the plurality of teeth having a longitudinal axis extending from the base substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis of the crankshaft, and a pickup element sensor disposed in proximity to the pickup element, the pickup element sensor being operable to generate a pickup element signal in response to rotation of the pickup element relative to the pickup element sensor, the pickup element signal indicating an angular velocity of the crankshaft and a rotational position of the crankshaft within the crankcase housing, wherein the pickup element sensor defines a longitudinal axis, the pickup element sensor being disposed relative to the plurality of teeth of the pickup element such that the longitudinal axis of the pickup element sensor is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of each tooth of the plurality of teeth.