Van's Air Force
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ignition systems
- Thread starter DEWATSON
- Start date
deek
Well Known Member
Best for what? You will get twice as many opinions as there are options 
A lot depends upon your flying, equipment installation, electrical system redundancy, etc. I use one impulse Slick and one LSE Plasma system with direct crank triggers. I personally would not use two electronic ignitions and would use a Bendix instead of the Slick if it would fit. I've used Slick/LSE on 3 EZ's with more than 4,000 hours aggregate flight time, and intend to use 1 Bendix and 1 LSE on the -14. I understand Klaus' system, know how it works, how to install and trouble shoot it, and am reluctant to deviate from what works well.
There are, however, a lot of good systems out there, including two Bendix mags!
deek
A lot depends upon your flying, equipment installation, electrical system redundancy, etc. I use one impulse Slick and one LSE Plasma system with direct crank triggers. I personally would not use two electronic ignitions and would use a Bendix instead of the Slick if it would fit. I've used Slick/LSE on 3 EZ's with more than 4,000 hours aggregate flight time, and intend to use 1 Bendix and 1 LSE on the -14. I understand Klaus' system, know how it works, how to install and trouble shoot it, and am reluctant to deviate from what works well.
There are, however, a lot of good systems out there, including two Bendix mags!
deek
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RV10inOz
Well Known Member
Two Bendix magneto's.
You asked!
End of discussion.
I wish I had two of them
The saying goes I would rather have two old worn out Bendix than two new Slicks!
For a whole bunch of reasons which are not going to be discussed here, in my opinion, knowing what I know, and for fault finding (not always magneto faults either) the mags will be better.
Others love their e/pmag and EI's though.
YMMV
N941WR
Legacy Member
I?m thankful my truck doesn?t have points and my plane doesn?t have mags. Enough with the 1930?s Technology.
I?ll take a pair of P-mags with mine any day!
BTW, you asked a very loaded question, one in which there are a lot of opinions mixed in with a few facts.
The real answer is to install the ignition you are comfortable flying behind. The rest is noise.
I?ll take a pair of P-mags with mine any day!
BTW, you asked a very loaded question, one in which there are a lot of opinions mixed in with a few facts.
The real answer is to install the ignition you are comfortable flying behind. The rest is noise.
Yet another opinion ... but from your "homie"
Started "PJ" with a "Jeff Rose (ElectroAir) + one impulse mag. Liked it,
Started a different project with 1 Lightspeed + 1 impulse mag.
Changed out mag on "PJ" to a "P-Mag".
I have flown behind each. I like what EACH of them does.
They all make for faster starts, smoother engine running and the POTENTIAL for better gas mileage.
BUT, if you are considering a change, in MY opinion, the EASIEST change to get some of the benefits of electronic ignition is to remove the non impulse mag and insert a P-Mag. Add power. And with #1 @ TDC give it the "puffs" and timing is set.
James
Started "PJ" with a "Jeff Rose (ElectroAir) + one impulse mag. Liked it,
Started a different project with 1 Lightspeed + 1 impulse mag.
Changed out mag on "PJ" to a "P-Mag".
I have flown behind each. I like what EACH of them does.
They all make for faster starts, smoother engine running and the POTENTIAL for better gas mileage.
BUT, if you are considering a change, in MY opinion, the EASIEST change to get some of the benefits of electronic ignition is to remove the non impulse mag and insert a P-Mag. Add power. And with #1 @ TDC give it the "puffs" and timing is set.
James
The best?
Too general of a question. Variable timing and hotter spark make more power smoother running and less fuel with EI, auto plugs and wires, but the electrical system must support it. Mags are electrically independent but are a compromise due to fixed timing and require maintence. Are you building or flying?
I have a dual Bendix mag engine, I installed a single EFII and put my order in to have an engine shop convert a single Bendix mag for my engine. I'm glad the engine shop didn't start on my mag yet, the more I thought about it the more the mag didn't make sense. My electrical system is based on the aeroelectric's 13-8 with the SD8 aux alt, so I have redundant electrical power. I chose this architechture for greater flexability to power avionics as well as engine electronics. I put my order in today for a second EFII and cancelled the order for my mag. Price difference between the rebuilt Mag and EFII was $500ish, I'm guessing I'll break even pretty quickly not buying $20 plugs and a 10% fuel savings.
Too general of a question. Variable timing and hotter spark make more power smoother running and less fuel with EI, auto plugs and wires, but the electrical system must support it. Mags are electrically independent but are a compromise due to fixed timing and require maintence. Are you building or flying?
I have a dual Bendix mag engine, I installed a single EFII and put my order in to have an engine shop convert a single Bendix mag for my engine. I'm glad the engine shop didn't start on my mag yet, the more I thought about it the more the mag didn't make sense. My electrical system is based on the aeroelectric's 13-8 with the SD8 aux alt, so I have redundant electrical power. I chose this architechture for greater flexability to power avionics as well as engine electronics. I put my order in today for a second EFII and cancelled the order for my mag. Price difference between the rebuilt Mag and EFII was $500ish, I'm guessing I'll break even pretty quickly not buying $20 plugs and a 10% fuel savings.
Capflyer
Well Known Member
Oh goodie....another electronic ignition debate has arisen.
Per posted original question:
I had dual Lightspeed in my RV7 and loved it. I currently have Electroair + 1 Slick in my RV4....Love the Electroair and hate the mag. On the RV8 I'm building it has dual P-Mags. They are all excellent choices.
Per the Naysayers:
The guys still disputing electronic ignition really need to open their minds and realize that these work and work very well. It has been over 30 years since autos switched to electronic ignition and rarely is there someone sitting on the side of the road because it failed. In planes you design your electrical system around them so they are always connected to the battery. I remember the old days of fidlefarting around timing my engine all the time...oh wait, I still do that with my Slick. These are all dependable, they save fuel, they improve performance, use less expensive better quality auto plugs, use less expensive high performance 8mm spark plug wires vs. ridiculously expensive aviation spark plug wires, and they all make starting your engine much easier. On top of that they cut maintenance down tremendously by not having to adjust timing, change rotors, points, condensers, coils, and cleaning lead laden spark plugs. Oh, and let's not forget that all magnetos will fail at some point and need repair or replacement.
Per posted original question:
I had dual Lightspeed in my RV7 and loved it. I currently have Electroair + 1 Slick in my RV4....Love the Electroair and hate the mag. On the RV8 I'm building it has dual P-Mags. They are all excellent choices.
Per the Naysayers:
The guys still disputing electronic ignition really need to open their minds and realize that these work and work very well. It has been over 30 years since autos switched to electronic ignition and rarely is there someone sitting on the side of the road because it failed. In planes you design your electrical system around them so they are always connected to the battery. I remember the old days of fidlefarting around timing my engine all the time...oh wait, I still do that with my Slick. These are all dependable, they save fuel, they improve performance, use less expensive better quality auto plugs, use less expensive high performance 8mm spark plug wires vs. ridiculously expensive aviation spark plug wires, and they all make starting your engine much easier. On top of that they cut maintenance down tremendously by not having to adjust timing, change rotors, points, condensers, coils, and cleaning lead laden spark plugs. Oh, and let's not forget that all magnetos will fail at some point and need repair or replacement.
rleffler
Well Known Member
As many have stated, there is no one correct answer to your question.
What's your mission?
What is your risk profile?
Do you have an electrical system to support electronic ignitions?
What are your requirements?
How is the quality of tech support from the vendor?
Answers to each of these will drive each of us to pick different solutions.
In my case, I am a little more risk adverse and wanted to have mags available as a backup to the electronic ignition. I'm going with a G3i electronic ignition. Larry Vetterman has a nice write up of his testing of the unit on his web site. It may not have all the slick features of some of the other units, but had enough of them to satisfy my needs. While I'm comfortable with my decision, it may not be the most effective decision for somebody else.
What's your mission?
What is your risk profile?
Do you have an electrical system to support electronic ignitions?
What are your requirements?
How is the quality of tech support from the vendor?
Answers to each of these will drive each of us to pick different solutions.
In my case, I am a little more risk adverse and wanted to have mags available as a backup to the electronic ignition. I'm going with a G3i electronic ignition. Larry Vetterman has a nice write up of his testing of the unit on his web site. It may not have all the slick features of some of the other units, but had enough of them to satisfy my needs. While I'm comfortable with my decision, it may not be the most effective decision for somebody else.
RV7Guy
Well Known Member
G3i
I'm putting 2 Slicks on the 390 with the G3i ignitions system. I have not flown behind it but my neighbor has it and flown a few hundreds hours. Loves it.
Gives the benefits of electronic ignition with the simplicity of Mags. Simple to install. If the electronic system fails, the mags revert to.....Mags.
Very cost effective system as well.
I'm putting 2 Slicks on the 390 with the G3i ignitions system. I have not flown behind it but my neighbor has it and flown a few hundreds hours. Loves it.
Gives the benefits of electronic ignition with the simplicity of Mags. Simple to install. If the electronic system fails, the mags revert to.....Mags.
Very cost effective system as well.
Does G3i changes the spark duration or simply synchronize the two mags?
Captain_John
Well Known Member
I ran mine in the test cell at Mattituck and was really impressed!
It is a multiple spark discharge system. It uses the magneto trigger to enhance the single spark a number of times using an external transformer.
Mine looks like this...
CJ
