Interesting article on Electronic Ignition in AOPA Pilot

[TMetzinger]

This month's Frugal Flier column in AOPA pilot showed a new electronic ignition that replaces the right magneto on some carburated Lycomings. The end result is fuel efficiency, with the magneto still available in the event of an electrical failure. Price is expected to be around $3400.

Should also make hot starts easier too.

 

[Bob Noel]

$3400 is "frugal"?

I guess that it's not for the low-end Lycomings.

 

[Pilawt]

My experience with electronic ignition (Unison Lasar) in my C-172N-180 has been less than satisfactory. The automatic spark advance increases CHT by about 20 degrees (that's just what the manual says; it may be more than that in practice); mag adjustments require special tools and test equipment; system failure inflight reverts the mags to a pre-set default mode, but prevents the engine from being re-started until repair is made; roughness in idle; replacement mags are hideously expensive; etc.

I hope this new system is more user-friendly.

 

[gismo]

This month's Frugal Flier column in AOPA pilot showed a new electronic ignition that replaces the right magneto on some carburated Lycomings. The end result is fuel efficiency, with the magneto still available in the event of an electrical failure. Price is expected to be around $3400.

Should also make hot starts easier too.

I especially liked the part about going 10% slower on 20% less fuel. You can do that in almost any airplane just by pulling back on the throttle. I predict this won't be a hot seller.

 

[TMetzinger]

I especially liked the part about going 10% slower on 20% less fuel. You can do that in almost any airplane just by pulling back on the throttle. I predict this won't be a hot seller.

That's not compared to the "normally ignited" airplane - that's simply rich of peak versus lean of peak.

Previously I believe that the certified systems were dual mags and dual electronic modules - the "one of each" is a cheaper alternative.

 

[flyingcheesehead]

My experience with electronic ignition (Unison Lasar) in my C-172N-180 has been less than satisfactory. The automatic spark advance increases CHT by about 20 degrees (that's just what the manual says; it may be more than that in practice); mag adjustments require special tools and test equipment; system failure inflight reverts the mags to a pre-set default mode, but prevents the engine from being re-started until repair is made; roughness in idle; replacement mags are hideously expensive; etc.

I hope this new system is more user-friendly.

I've been wondering why Diamond switched away from using the Lasar system on the DA40's. I guess this is a clue.

Ours does not have Lasar, and it's still incredibly efficient.

 

[kyleb]

I especially liked the part about going 10% slower on 20% less fuel. You can do that in almost any airplane just by pulling back on the throttle. I predict this won't be a hot seller.

I saw that too. Whoever is writing their adverarticles did a bad job on that one. You can go google the CAFE foundation studies on EI's from a decade or more ago. They clearly showed improvements in power and fuel consumption versus magneto ignitions.

I fly the experimental version of the ignition written up in AOPA and can tell you that it does give a better spark and more power than a regular 'ol magneto. On mag checks, when I shut off the EI, there is a 50 rpm drop. When I shut off the magneto, there is zero drop running on the EI only.

The downside to the EI? A couple. First, reliability. I've had the EI fail twice in ~725 hours. My failure rate for magnetos is 1 mag failure in about 1400 hours, so about 25% the failure rate of the EI. Small sample size, admittedly, but others flying the same setup have followed more or less the same pattern.

The second issue is parts availability. You can get mag parts or a replacement mag almost anywhere. So if you break out in the sticks somewhere, there's a decent chance someone close by has repair parts for your mag or a servicable mag collecting dust on a shelf. Not so with an EI.