"Michelle P" wrote in message
ink.net...
If you have a Constant Speed prop you will not see the RPM drop as long as
you are within the authority of the governor. [...]

You should perceive at least some drop. The prop governor cannot react
instantaneously, and the engine RPM will drop before the governor has time
to reduce the prop pitch and allow the RPM to come back to the set point.

Not all pilots are sensitive enough to the sounds their airplane is making,
but one who is should definitely note a momentary drop in RPM if a magneto
goes offline in an airplane with a constant speed prop.

In my airplane, I get much smaller fluctuations in power, caused by the
turbocharger's density controller "hunting" slightly during full-power
climbs in hot weather. The RPM change is barely perceptible on the gauge
(no more than 10 RPM up or down), but it's easily noticed by ear. A failed
mag would cause a much more significant change in RPM than that before the
prop governor can bring things back to the set point.

Speaking from experience.

If you failed to notice a change in RPM when your mag failed in a
constant-speed prop-equipped airplane, maybe some music lessons will help
you be more perceptive to what your airplane is telling you.

Pete