REFLECTOR: Progress

[Douglas Holub]

My mag is fixed at 25 degrees btdc so it would be bad to use it during starting. I have a red push button for the starter solenoid in series with a DPDT toggle switch. When the toggle switch is ON it connects the push button to the starter solenoid and shorts the mag's P-lead to ground. That way the mag will never be firing while the starter is cranking.

I never wanted to use a magneto because they are notoriously unreliable after a few hundred hours, but one of my Plasma III boxes failed during a cross country flight once so now I'm a little nervous about putting all my eggs in Plasma III's basket. The engine starts and runs great with just one Plasma III.  

Why don't I climb to altitude with both ignitions and then turn the magneto off while I'm cruising to extend the life of the magneto and increase the chances that it will be working well when I need it?  I would turn the magneto on during my descent and then when I had the runway, turn off the Plasma III so the engine would idle slower on the one mag. Would this be considered risky? Does anybody do this?

Doug Holub
Standard FG

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Jack Prock 
  To: Velocity Aircraft Owners and Builders list 
  Sent: Friday, May 18, 2012 12:33 AM
  Subject: Re: REFLECTOR: Progress


  Hi,

  I am working on the final design of my electrical system and was wondering if anyone has used a standard 
  keyed ignition (OFF-Left-Right-BOTH) when set up with one mag and one electronic ignition system?

  Up until today, I was thinking that I could use a standard aircraft keyed switch, but I didn’t realize that the mag is shut off by
  grounding out one of the leads. This means that when the keyed switch is in the off position, the two terminals and the center
  post are actually connected. And when in the BOTH position, the two terminals and the center post are not connected. 

  I can think of a way to use the keyed switch... but the motion of the key turns from right to left, not left to right. I would just need
  to create a new label and use a relay for the Mag connection. This would have the added benefit of not having the mag wire
  anywhere near the radios to cut down on e-noise. I just don’t like the opposite key rotation.


  Are people with electronic ignitions using a two simple switches?  1) Elec-IGN   2) MAG   
  Do you have a key/lockset at all?

  Any input would be helpful.

  Thanks,

  Jack


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