RONSIM

Well Known Member
I have a O320H2AD with the dual magneto setup running only the right side, with an EIS driven by a crank-shaft sensor for the other side. Just a thought for saving some bulk and weight, is it possible (feasible) to pull the dual mag setup off and substitute a single impulse mag? And, if so, what mag would I look for? (Not interested in going dual electronic)

Thanks for the help,

Ron
 
Just a thought for saving some bulk and weight, is it possible (feasible) to pull the dual mag setup off and substitute a single impulse mag? And, if so, what mag would I look for? (Not interested in going dual electronic)

Thanks for the help,

Ron

Ron:

The dual mag is different in several ways----the drive gear has a different depth from the flange to the drive gear and it has a pilot shaft and bearing that fits into a hole in the rear of the crankcase.

You can broach some material off both a Bendix mag and the accessory case to make the gears fit on the same plane, but that still leaves the hole (about one inch in dia.) in the rear o the crankcase. This crankcase hole also has an oil hole to keep the pilot bearing lubricated. This oil hole will give you some loss of oil pressure as it is a totally open hole.

All is not lost though----there is one Bendix mag that will accept the drive gear from the dual mag and match to the proper depth and provide the pilot bearing to fit the hole in the crankcase.

I think I remember the "dash" number for that mag as being 45, but I can't be sure, since I lost the hard drive on the computer that had a lot of data like that..

I got the info from a magneto shop in Dallas, TX. Might do some research there.
 
Had that thought as well.
Just had a problem with my dual mag and thought about doing the same thing. But I needed the airplane and just had the mag fixed. When you find out what mag will work please post up the answer or pm me the information. Good luck on the search
Dave
 
More great info

Thanks, Bubblehead --

Looks as though the issue has been brought up before. I have no real issue with the dual mag setup, but with one side of the -8A running EI, I would like to "clean up" the backside of the engine a bit. I fly a Lance with the dual mag setup and have flown many of the 172N with no problems. Flight schools that run the engines with the dual mags don't seem to have any major issues.

Ron
 
I have the dual mag system and my only objection is the single point of failure (the gear/drive). I may add one EI to get the full redundancy.