wrote:

snip

I've had instances of mag failure where switching to one improved the
situation quite a bit. One was a bad timing gear that did include the
backfiring, but another was a shorting distributer block that made the
engine extremely rough and caused a power loss. In that case, I
switched to the good mag and had a much less worriesome ride home.

I guess I don't completely understand your (or Marty's) reluctance to
at least check the mags in flight. Even at best glide, the engine is
not going to come to a stop because you grounded a mag. If it gets
worse, you just switch back, then try the other one. At some point,
you decide which combo (left, right, or both) works best and you leave
it there.

Maybe there is something I haven't considered. If so, I would
welcome enlightenment.

John Galban=====N4BQ (PA28-180)


Years ago I was flying a C-150 and it started running real rough. I did
an airborne mag check and found it ran better on one mag. I flew the
remainder of the trip (about 40 minutes) that way and reported this to
the FBO. Can't remember now what the problem was.
--
Regards, Ross
C-172F 180HP