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Electronic Ign Safety and Sport Aviation article

R

rmr

Member
I am currently shopping for an engine for my RV-7A project. After reading through several posts here, I was close to a final configuration. Essentially an IO 360 with horizontal induction and dual p-mags. While reading the latest Sport Air magazine on the article regarding Amateur Built Safety, I read (p.34 second paragraph), "Almost half of the total aircraft involved in accidents (48 percent) had traditional engines and most of them probably had traditional magnetos. Yet almost twice as many accidents were caused by failures of electronic ignition versus those old fashioned magnetos."
Needless to say this has given me pause. My understanding is that Emagair has worked itself through some of the earlier problems and that the new P-mags are more robust and easy to install. I also recall Paul Dye mentioning his increased confidence in his decision to move to dual p-mags on his latest project; and while i understand there are many other systems out there beside P-mags, are those flying with P-mags confident in their systems? Are most of you guys flying with dual systems, or have you gone with one a p-mag/one mag set up? Any bogeys to watch out for?
Vans sells an IO-360 m1b, but my understanding is that Lycoming voids they're warranty with the addition of electronic ignition. Its one of the reasons i was looking at one of the popular engine build shops advertised here. These statistics have caused me to reconsider and go back to square one. Any thoughts?
 
Welcome to VAF!!!!

Richard, welcome to the good ship VAF:D

My opinion, the electronic ignition systems have gone through a lot of teething problems in the last few years, and are now pretty well proven items.

If I were going to be setting up a new engine, I would look very strongly at the Emag------I like the fact it has its own internal power generator.

Also, you might want to look at G3, which is a normal mag, but has an external trigger, and as I recall reverts to simple mag operation if the external box fails.

Lightspeed has an impressive track record.

Also, look at Ross Farnham's stuff, at Simple Digital Injection---He is a VAFer.

Lastly, Barrett Perf Engines are working on an ignition system that should be pretty good.

There are others, but my memory is stalled a bit right now.

Good luck, and again, welcome.
 
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Welcome! You've come to the right place.

I go along with Mike here. The only E-ignition I have personal experience is E-Mag/P-Mag, and I know there were problems early on. It was new technology. The key word here is "was." I sent mine in several times for updates, but haven't needed updating in probably three years. They really perform, and I have lots of faith in them. I have had regular mags fail two times in my flying career (thankfully on the ground) and wouldn't trade for anything. It is nice to be cautious, and you should find out all the facts. I have a feeling the whole story isn't in the article; updated/old style, early version/current version, etc.

We are pilots--we take risks. Just take as few as possible. I do not believe a P-Mag adds to the risk in any way. Just my opinion...

Bob
 
CHECK ignition section

If you look furter down on the main page , you will find a firewall forward section and within that group an Electronic Ignition section.

If man made it, then it will quit at some point. The trick is to have only one fail while the second system brings you home.

With any system , quality of install and proper maintenance will be what keeps the sparks alive.

Good Luck!
 
It is my understanding

that most of the benefit for the e-ignition comes from installing the first unit (80%), so I prefer one mag, one e-ignition. Glad I did it, at least once! (e-side failed)
 
Over 360 hours on dual P-mags and love the setup. Simple, reliable, etc.

As stated above, they HAD issues early on but have solved them.

Besides having an internal power source, should your ship's electrical system fail, they don't require a 500 hour overhaul like a traditional magneto.

Feel free to drop me a note at bill (at) repucci.com, if you have any questions regarding their installation or operation.

Regarding the Lycoming engine, there are other engine options out there such as Superior or ECi and they will save you money.
 
Ignition failures

Ive had both certified (LASAR) and experimental (PMag) fail. I agree that anything can fail, certified or not, and as pilots it's our responsibility to be prepared to deal with the failures. The differences in my failures were that the LASAR failed in flight, was a catastrophic mechanical failure (sheared main shaft!), and the customer support was the equivalent of sticking their fingers in their ears, closing their eyes and saying "la la la la la ". EMag air on the other hand explained their system and operating philosophy to me, walked me through the troubleshooting, verified the problem required them to have the unit and fixed it quickly. As a side note, they have their system diagnostics designed such that if the unit goes out of tolerance in flight you still get home but it won't pass the start up tolerances test when you try to start it up for the next flight. Very safe. As you may have guessed, I never considered putting the LASAR back in my plane and never considered NOT putting the PMags back in. I'm very happy and confident in them.

All Best

Jeremy Constant
RV 7A 150hrs.
 
Thank you all for your replies. Your personal experiences are very comforting as I move forward with my decisions. First hand experience is certainly one of the many values of this forum. Sounds like dual P-mags and several eyeballs on my install!
 
Regular mags are dirt simple and reliable. I've had mag failures but never 2 at the same time. On the other hand I'm aware of 3 major failures (neighbors) with electronic systems. I understand people saying that the older systems had teething pains and that was in the past BUT will someone be saying that about your system a few years down the road? The referenced article dealt with accidents from 2006 thru 2010, not exactly ancient history.
 
Flybuddy2 said:
Regular mags are dirt simple and reliable. I've had mag failures but never 2 at the same time...
Click to expand...
That's one reason I like the P-mags so well, they are complete independent of one another. That and they are simple to install with very few parts, wires, etc. required.
 
PS

Every time I have had an EI fail on me in flight, a magneto has brought me home safe. I currently run 2 Slick mags with a slick start on the LH side in two different aircraft.
 
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