I am not for a moment saying EI is a bad thing but let’s be realistic. We don’t yet have a plug-in certified replacement for either two mags or the dual mags, and that is a big factor which – marketing wise – you ignore at your peril. It’s a “half solution” which lots of people pretend is a “full solution” and they are hoping enough people are stupid. I’ve been in business since 1978 and can tell you that a “half product” fails every time – unless you spend so much money on marketing that you don’t make any money at the end of it – or you buy the competitor(s) and shut them down (not unusual in avionics, is it?).
Small gaps, 4 electrodes, to be reasonable sure it fires at all.
Not at all. Take a look at any spark plug in a Lycoming engine. This is the iridium URHM38S
and the common ones look like this
The REM37BYs I use are very similar to an automotive spark plug and work very well with a magneto. They are gapped to 0.020 inches with a magneto, or half a millimeter, with some EI manufacturers recommending an increase to 0.030 inches. The larger gap is where the improvement in starting comes from but if you don’t have any issue with starting to begin with, that is not a useful benefit. Smoother running on one plug might be good in the event of an ignition failure.
Yes – similar to my original ones before I went to iridium. Iridium plugs make 1000+ hours with no visible wear.
The are currently working on UK approval but no date yet.
You mean Electroair – a US company – is working on a UK CAA approval?? They don’t even have FAA approval…
Bathman wrote:
Who cares.When the price of a Surefly mag is the same as that of a Slick and has a TBO of 2400 hours why would anyone fit a magneto that needs overhauling every 500 hours?
One would start caring at the moment of alternator failure. Surefly is electrically dependent.
And the battery will keep it going for hrs if you load shed, and then there’s the other magneto system…
Peter wrote:
Take a look at any spark plug in a Lycoming engine
OK, two then 
I actually got a carboard box full of these things, surplus from the Air Force (Saab Safari)
The basis principle is as Dan stated. If you could, you would install EI.
Surefly are working on UK approval
Same deal
You keep one original mag, and still have to OH that one as normal.
This is a half-truth
Yeah…
Also remember this:
Any thought on EASA? On of the club did install one in a DR400-105 when installing the overalled engine, I think it was the surefly rebadged by LYCO. I don’t know yet the status as it started flying last week.
I know of lycoming based sure fly magneto’s in service in the UK. They now come as standard from the factory so for some reason they are now allowed.
As for it being half a job well that may well be the case. Buy if the overall running costs are lower I’m all up for it.
