"Paul Mennen" wrote in message om...
I would have also left the plane.
No reason to kill yourself over a minor inconvenience.

More than inconvenience. A dead mag means the airplane is not legally
airworthy, and flying it that way presents a whole range of threats,
from a second mag failure through to insurance invalidation and to the
loss of your license.

Ok, I'm setting myself to get totally jumped on, but hey this
thread is far too one sided to make a legitimate newsgroup thread.
So I feel compelled to offer another perspective.

I appreciate your alternative perspective, but if I don't have two
mags, and I know that to be a fact, I ain't flying. It's just not
worth it.

I was talking to a friend recently who lost a mag on take off in a
C-172. He was amazed at how much power he lost. He barely cleared the
trees at the end of the runway and he felt sure that he was going to
have to set down in the parking lot of the local community college
which was about 3/4 mile straight ahead. He was able to get the plane
to about 900 feet, but no more, so he was able to nurse it back to a
landing. This guy is a very accomplished pilot (instrument,
commercial) and it scared him. Freaked me a bit too because the plane
is the plane that I rent most often. When he found out it was a lead
wire that fell onto the block, effectively grounding out the mag, he
was amazed. He was sure that it was something much more severe because
it hampered his climb performance so much.

Lots of times, you need 100% power to take off and climb, especially
if you have obstacles, it's hot and high, etc. Think about it, would
you ever take off with the throttle partially closed? You know, just
for kicks? That's similar to what it's like to take off with a failed
mag.

-Trent
PP-ASEL