SureFly Electronic Mag - who has one?

WannFly

WannFly

Final Approach
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Priyo
anyone on POA has the certificated magneto replacement from SureFly? i am looking at SIM4P https://www.surefly.aero/products.

my Slick mags are coming up for IRAN/OH in the upcoming annual and wondering if i should just change the impulse coupled one with the SureFly one. what does POA say? My understanding is if my battery is dead and i am at a podunk airport, i cant start which i can probably leave with (until i am stuck at the aforementioned podunk airport...)

Engine Time: 1100 hrs, Lycoming O-360 A4M, 180HP
 
I would not choose to be a roll-out customer for something like that.

One thing I discovered with the first EI on my RV-6 was that in an AOG situation, there are mag parts (and whole working mags) at a lot of airports around the country. Parts and replacement units for a new EI, fielded in relatively small numbers? Bwhahaa...
 
Electronics don’t do well with heat and vibration. I’m not convinced they will be more reliable.
Anyone in the experimental side have used these?
I would think the EIS 41000 would be better?


Tom
 
What’s the problem you’re trying to solve?
 
Although it just got certified, they have been in experimentals for years. Fairly basic stuff since they use aviation plugs and the Slick cap and harness. I was awaiting the STC to purchase and not concerned about the newness to certified, especially since the FAA really put them through the wringer. The reason I'm NOT currently purchasing is that they only got approved for the fixed timing version which gives absolutely no improvement over a mag. It's an easy switch over when they do get the advanced approval (dipswitches and adding a manifold pressure tube). Unfortunately it took so long for their initial certification that it's worrisome when they might get the advanced approval.
 
Hard call..if I had a new overhauled engine I'd spring for it. But like me with a mid time engine I can have both mags IRAN'd for still cheaper than that. And if you buy that one then you still have to IRAN the other so now your talking close to $2k. But again I'm cheap..hehe and I believe I read at on point they still require an OH at some point...right? If so how much is that?
 
simtech said:
Hard call..if I had a new overhauled engine I'd spring for it. But like me with a mid time engine I can have both mags IRAN'd for still cheaper than that. And if you buy that one then you still have to IRAN the other so now your talking close to $2k. But again I'm cheap..hehe and I believe I read at on point they still require an OH at some point...right? If so how much is that?
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Think they say you need to change a few things at engine OH, I am not entirely sure what all. Trying to find someone who actually installed one in certificated one
 
MooneyDriver78 said:
Electronics don’t do well with heat and vibration. I’m not convinced they will be more reliable.
Anyone in the experimental side have used these?
I would think the EIS 41000 would be better?


Tom
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I've got one on my Continental IO550.

Works fine. I can't see any speed improvement but I did see about .5 GPH less fuel flow for the same speed.
 
There have been several reports by Grumman AA5x owners on the Grumman Forum. All have been favorable although one did report engine stumbling when switching from the standard mag to the Surefly module during runup. Apparently the issue is that it takes 3 revolutions for the Surefly module to resume operation and in one case it caused a stumble when the standard mag switches off before the Surefly module starts working.

Install reports are that it is quick and easy. There are already some YouTube install videos up. None have enough time to judge reliability.

As for OH, it is my understanding that there is none. The Instructions for Continued Airworthiness calls for units to be returned to Surefly for evaluation in the event of a prop strike, engine overhaul, lightning strike, fire, or water damage, failed magneto check, or 2400 hours of operation. If it fails, it needs to be replaced. There is no option to repair or overhaul.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
I look forward to the day that I can have TWO of these on my aircraft, and quit sending mags out for overhauls.
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It ain't a free ride. Dual EI's generally means installing a much more robust electrical system in your aircraft. Mag rebuilds every few years might look cheap once you went down the road of dual batteries, dual alternators, and all of the accompanying rewiring.
 
IRAN every 500 hrs isn't that bad. The inspection can go just peachy and it gets returned to service. Odds of TWO needing OH or replacement on the same cycle? I dunno, low.

All that said I have dual electronic ignition. So what do I know about mag maintenance anyway.
 
kyleb said:
It ain't a free ride. Dual EI's generally means installing a much more robust electrical system in your aircraft. Mag rebuilds every few years might look cheap once you went down the road of dual batteries, dual alternators, and all of the accompanying rewiring.
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I already have dual batteries. I'll probably consider getting a second alternator once our panel goes all-electric. I'm sure it'll weigh less than the entire DUAL vacuum system I already have! (regular engine-driven vac pump plus electric backup vac pump)

So, yeah, I don't really mind the idea of a more robust electrical system.

Also, I believe at least some of the electronic ignition systems have their own built-in generating system to avoid these issues.

MooneyDriver78 said:
You are assuming they don’t break and are as dependable as magnetos, that could be a bad assumption.
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Dependable? Magnetos? :no:

How many other components of the airplane need to be tested for every flight and removed from the aircraft for overhaul every 500 hours? I would say that the mags are one of the least dependable parts of the airplane... And yes, I've had one fail.

Here in the cold country, the nylon drive gears tend to get brittle from being really cold in winter and then exposed to the heat of the engine, so they tend to lose teeth or just get completely shredded. If they lose teeth, you don't necessarily even know it until your next flight because while they're running there's enough momentum to "skip" the missing teeth in some cases, so it's not until you shut down and then try to restart that they quit.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Also, I believe at least some of the electronic ignition systems have their own built-in generating system to avoid these issues.
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The (still vapor) solution from ElectroAir for those of us with siamese mags was going to include its own alternator, which could also provide a few amps as a standby for other electronics.
 
Still don’t get why people think there are no moving parts to wear out in these.
 
I spoke with the folks in Granbury TX that manufacture the mag. They are the ones who will be supplying Lycoming factory Engines with the MAG. They said the FAA had them do testing with both mags and that at some point they will have an STC for 2 of them. After all the testing they certified one. The FAA still isn’t allowing 2 for some reason. when it is STCd you will have to have a small backup bat. Similar to the ones used in the Diesels for the FADEC backup. Thinking about putting one on the 182. Maybe Ill cruise over there and check it out when I get back. Anyone using one?
 
The Sureflys have gotten pretty good reviews from owners on the Grumman Gang mail list. Better starts, improved fuel economy, reportedly.
 
Just installed in my plane.

The logic seemed clear from an economic, reliability, and performance perspective.

There are good threads on the Vans forum, and also good articles in aviation consumer.

Advanced timing, solid state reliability, increased longevity, better precision... And let's face it, most modern designed engines do not use mags...

See really simple to me.
 
Install looks really easy, everyone worried about vibration and heat so far I have not heard of anyone having that type of issue. DEFIANTLY doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened. The FAA has approved it and Lycomings soon will come with them from the factory. My mag was trashed at the 500 hour........ the electronic ones are inspected at 2400 hours. That alone tells me they have MTBF documentation already or the feds would have never gone for it being that far between insp. Intervals. Carburetors were great until FI, Recips dominated the planet until Turbines, horse and buggie would never be replaced by the automobile. Things change...doesn’t always mean better but a lot of the times it does. These mags have been out for a while now on the experimental side. So anyone that has them do they support the Claim of 1gph less fuel burn and better starts?
 
chartbundle said:
The (still vapor) solution from ElectroAir for those of us with siamese mags was going to include its own alternator, which could also provide a few amps as a standby for other electronics.
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I had a 0-320 H2AD and my mags are getting harder and harder to find parts for.I wanted the electro air but for the price I could buy 4 overhauled mags and they would last a lifetime.
 
Did you notice a fuel burn difference?
 
Does anyone have any comparison between the ElectroAir vs Suremags??

I have the ElectroAir dealer on my field.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
The Cirrus owners on COPA really like it. There is a small reduction in fuel burn and reports that the engine runs smoother. Another big bonus is easy hot starts.

There is a rumor that SureFly is working on a dual option, and that battery-back up is needed for redundancy. The Cirrus crowd really likes this as the Cirrus planes already have dual alternators and batteries.
 
I have a Surefly 6L new in the box. Hoping to install it next week. My slick mags are past the 500 hr mark but running fine, so far, for now....
 
You can buy a lot of 500 hour inspections for the price of one of those. I’ll stick to my trusty mags until something significantly less expensive or something that gives me much more power or economy comes out.
 
If you want more power you can send your cylinders to lycon. I have heard 20-30HP from them but that’s lycon saying that. And it’s cheap(relative)1800$ for 6 cylinders. Say you gain 10 HP that’s a lot.They told me 25 HP on a IO-360. The cool thing about the electronic ignition is it adjusts timing for altitude. I would be interested in the warranty info they claim 2400 hours before checks.....
 
Paveslave53 said:
If you want more power you can send your cylinders to lycon. I have heard 20-30HP from them but that’s lycon saying that. And it’s cheap(relative)1800$ for 6 cylinders. Say you gain 10 HP that’s a lot.They told me 25 HP on a IO-360. The cool thing about the electronic ignition is it adjusts timing for altitude. I would be interested in the warranty info they claim 2400 hours before checks.....
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I don’t need more power, I was just implying that I would need another reason to upgrade.
 
asicer said:
How about less downtime and lower fuel burn?
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I haven’t kept up, do they adjust the timing? I’ve also heard they need fine wires ($$). I’m waiting for someone to put more than just a few hundred hours on them.


Tom
 
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