Looking at dumping the unsafe dual mag and going with single mag and one electronic ignition with flywheel pickup. Anyone tried this and care to share experiences?

Check this out

http://www.electroair.net/press_releases.html

Looks like the

Electroair single ignition kit 6 cyl $1695
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/e ... troair.php

EFII Dual Electronic Ignition Kit 4 CYL ONLY from Aircraft Spruce $1945
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/categorie ... _efii.html
but im not seeing a place to buy a EFII in the single ignition 6 cyl.. they advertise it on their website but dont sell it on aircraft spruce.


which is a better value? There seems to be ALOT more support for the 6 cylinder lycoming installation from Electroair. And their price is competitive with others. They all seem to claim their better than the next guy. Any benefits of one system over the other?

Does lightspeed offer anything for the 540?

Light Speed Engineering Plasma III $1450
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/e ... nition.php

This one is the lowest priced out of the ones i've seen so far. I like that it has digital outputs for the MAP, RPM, and Timing. I would love to get rid of my heavy tach and cable.

I'm not sure what the difference is between the regular sensor and the mini sensor. All these system appear to do the same thing with inputs from the map, rpm, and timing curves. Which work best???? who knows....?

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/e ... nition.php
This is a link comparing the EFII to the Pmag, slick mag, and plasma II. I don't think this is a very fair comparison though. I want to see a comparison with the Plasma III and the Electroair.

EFII Single Mag for 4 cyl only though $1295
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/e ... maglyc.php

EFII Dual Mag for 4 cylinder only $1945
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/e ... maglyc.php

Perhaps they will be offering the EFII system in 6 cylinder soon. They don't have it advertised right now but it's on their website. anyone heard?

I just emailed EFii and asked about a price and if they would sell me one of their units.. waiting for a reply. hope they come through. I like this system the best so far because it's upgradeable to the fuel injection/electronic ignition combo to match as a complete system.

Are these units FAA approved to install on certified aircraft?

The LightSpeed is a great unit. No Moving Parts.I know several RV's that run them and ZERO problems. One guy has had one on his plane for 15 years. I flew in one, with the LS, and when we did the mag check there was no drop in rpm when the mag was turned off. However, when the LS was turned off there was a 250-300 RPM drop. Also, at 8500 feet the mag was turned off and there was no drop in RPM. He would not turn the LS off while flying.

it looks like the electroair company will sell you a 6 cylinder unit with an STC for a hefty tag of $5500. The extra 4 grand is the FAA's CUT! dont even get me started.... I think i'll stick to the identical $1695 version of the same darn item. REDICULOUS

http://www.electroair.net/stc_ignition_kit2.html

I just got an email back from EFii.

EIGN-6-2 EFII Dual Ignition, 6 cyl Lyc, $2495
EIGN-6-2R EFII Dual Ignition, Dual ECU, 6 cyl Lyc, $3395

They also recommended the 12v critical systems Bus Bar protector which is the main design flaw in the electronic ignition design. I dont want the added design complication of the full dual ignition though. All that extra wiring sounds like alot of work and expense for only another few % gain tops.. so I guess Efii is out of the picture for me.

Looks like the competition now is narrowed down between lightspeed ignitions and Electroair.



Here is the email:

Hi,
We only make dual ignitions for the six cylinder engines. As you have probably discovered, we have a single ECU version of our dual ignition as well as a fully redundant dual ECU version of our dual ignition.
I have listed prices and part numbers below.
Of course, as with all of our systems, you would have the option of upgrading to include electronic fuel injection in the future if you choose.

Our ignitions are extremely reliable. We have zero failures to date. The most important thing to consider for reliability is a protected 12v power source.
We always recommend a two battery setup. Our Bus Manager product is the easiest and safest way to implement a protected essential bus for the engine electronics.

The Electro Air units and the Plasma IIIs are not very popular and they both have their individual reliability issues. These ignitions represent a very small percentage of aircraft ignition sales.
This is why we didn't worry too much about them in our report.

If you decide upon a dual ignition, we can certainly help you with your project.

Thank you for your inquiry,
Robert Paisley
EFII
Protek Performance

EFII Price list for 6 cylinder Lycoming engines:
ELECTRONIC IGNITION SYSTEMS
EIGN-6-2 EFII Dual Ignition, 6 cyl Lyc, $2495
EIGN-6-2R EFII Dual Ignition, Dual ECU, 6 cyl Lyc, $3395

I did notice that EFii did not compare their ignition system to the Light Speed newer Plasma III system.

Are these units FAA approved to install on certified aircraft?

I would seriously doubt it.

TomD wrote:

Are these units FAA approved to install on certified aircraft?

I would seriously doubt it.

One Mag with One electronic ignition is STC'd. Dual Electronic is not.

Lycoming 540 Series Engines

The EIS-61000 Electronic Ignition Kit is a fully STC'd kit for Lycoming 540 series, non-turbo’d, series engines, installed on single engine aircraft. Replacing one magneto with the EIS-61000 will typically improve fuel economy on average by 10-15% (operators have reported consistent fuel savings of 1.5-2.0 gph or greater).

http://www.electroair.net/stc_ignition_kit2.html

Anybody buy a Electronic ignition yet? looking for pireps. Thinking i'll bite the bullet on a single mag EFII system this week.... mostly looking for easier winter starting as i commute alot with the bird

I would like to hear how it works out. The press releases look promising but nothing like hearing from some one with real experiences with the equipment