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electronic ignition versus mags


ronny

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Hi all,

 

I have been reading about serveral guys moving away from mags and installing electroninc ignition on their Lycomings.

 

Why isn t this standard issue yet. Looking at the automotive world, the move to electronic ignition has happened many years ago and these systems have been perfected to the extreme.

 

Also noticed on some posts that some have installed two different electronic ignitions on their engines, why would that be?

 

Thanks

 

Ronny

:D :D :D :D

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Magnetos have their place. They operate completely independent of the aircraft electrical system and independent of each other. If one should fail, a replacement is available at just about any airport you land at.

 

Electronic ignition provides a better spark. That is for sure and I would agree that they have been pretty much perfected. The bigger issue is that they rely on the builder’s skill at electrical wiring. P-MAG being the exception since generates its own power.

 

As for builders installing two different makes of electronic ignition, I can only guess they are looking for that “independence” from common failure points. i.e., a common crank sensor.

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I have one Electroair electronic ignition and one dinosaur ( I mean impulse mag). I like having the mag since I can shut the master switch off and it still runs fine. The electronic ignition ROCKS! The fact is that the timing has some logic to it instead of being fixed at 25 BTDC. The chances of it failing are slim but in the event that it does, the mag provides a limp home mode. Hypothetically, if I were to leave the master on and left for a few hours the voltage would probably be too low to crank the engine, I could hand prop it with the mag and charge the battery with the engine running.

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