wrote in message
...
On Sep 3, 3:14 pm, (Drew Dalgleish)
wrote:
On Wed, 3 Sep 2008 11:12:15 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

Guess not. Now we can put a magneto on any old engine and go
flying! Considering that the magneto has a much higher failure rate
than the old battery point-and-condenser ignition, and therefore we
need two of them, I have no idea why, in this age of electronic
everything, the homebuilder market hasn't come up with a self-powered
electronic ignition module for conversions. It would look like a
magneto, and have the rotating magnet alternator to generate some
power, but wouldn't use the troublesome points or impulse couplings or
distributor and the alternator part would have many magnets, not just
one, so that the magneto dynamics that sometimes lead to drive failure
wouldn't be there. Dave Blanton found those dynamics in his
conversions and had to modify the mag drives to take it.

Dan

http://www.emagair.com/Index.htm

I have these on my lycoming and I think that it would be possible to
machine some kind of mount to fit it to an auto engine.

Well. There it is! I wonder when they'll get certification?
I'd like to try a pair on one of our 172s to see if fuel economy and
performance are better. Should be, with variable timing.
The one drawback I can see: They use battery power, with a
built-in alternator in case the aircraft's electrics die. Without an
impulse coupleing, they wouldn't generate enough power for hand-
propping, so my old A-65 non-electric systemed Jodel is out of luck.
Dan
Dan: I've been flying a Lightspeed ignition on one side and a Slick mag on
the other on my Lycoming 0320 for several years. The only problem that I
have had is that with real low battery voltage, the timing can get wrong and
cause a kick back and damage the starter. As I understand it the newer
units have fixed this problem. Impulse coupling?? You don't need it. This
thing fires so much better than a magneto at any speed that mag checks,
turning the mag off gets no rpm drop and turning the Lightspeed off gets
about 100rpm drop. The spark coming off the light speed fed plug looks like
something from science fiction. Also I'm using automotive platinum plugs @
$4.50 each and the A/C equivalent would be about 10X that. A small
isolated battery takes care of a backup for electrical system failures. I
do not have one installed yet and it has been about 10 years now and have
never needed the back up.