They’ve only very recently got the STCs, so most of the experience to date is with experimentals, but the impression I’ve got up from a few Surefly owners in the RV community is that they’ve been happy with them. The STC only allows one mag to be replaced and the timing advance feature (which facilitates leaner operation at altitude and therefore fuel savings) is only approved for normally aspirated engines with CHT monitoring and 100LL. The unit must be permanently connected to the battery bus via a fuse (i.e. no breaker or switch between the battery and the Surefly), although it is obviously prevented from sparking using the normal ignition switch. A minimum ship’s battery capacity (of 20 Ah for 12 volt and 8.5 Ah for 24 volt) is stipulated, which might be a limitation for smaller aircraft. However, the really great thing about it is that it doesn’t require maintenance between engine TBOs, so no more 500 hour mag overhauls (at least not on one side).
Lycoming are now selling the Surefly product but it isn’t certified. They say Q3 2019, which means nothing…
It also has fixed ignition timing.
The project is a partnership with SureFly, which has been developing electronic ignition systems (EIS) for several years. Massey said the Lycoming system meets the GAJSC requirement through a solid-state design that will last the life of the engine with no time between overhaul requirement and no scheduled maintenance requirements. The system is a drop-in replacement for conventional magnetos, making for easy installation.
Massey said the system is available immediately for experimental aircraft. FAA certification and related supplemental type certificates for installation on production aircraft are scheduled for the later in the third quarter of 2019. For now, the system uses fixed timing of the ignition spark, similar to magnetos.
Electronic ignition instead of mag overhaul
The Electroair EIS-61000-5M seems to be STCd for my Socata TB20 Lycoming IO540 engine.
At about $5,000 does it make any sense to keep overhauling the dual magneto for $2,000 every 4 years?
Wouldn’t it make more sense to purchase and install one of these instead of overhauling the fragile black box with unreliable springs and plastic cogs that cannot be even found anymore?
I hear Lycoming will start selling their EIS system as well any day now… Any issues or drawbacks I may not be aware of?
I‘m also interested to hear comments on this. The Electroair system has been on the market for several years now with excellent reviews in Aviation Consumer. Claims are for easier starts, reduced spark plug fouling due to more complete fuel burn, 1-2 gph improvement in fuel consumption, and slightly higher attainable max altitude.
chflyer wrote:
Claims are for easier starts, reduced spark plug fouling due to more complete fuel burn, 1-2 gph improvement in fuel consumption, and slightly higher attainable max altitude
Maybe, but compared with worn out mechanical system. EFI will give you improvements, and with FADEC even more. Electronic ignition has improved reliability, if it’s made well.
The articles I‘ve seen about the Electroair system compare it with a normally performing, even new, mechanical system.
They can be applied on lot of types
As far as I am aware the SureFLy mag doesn’t have EASA approval. Yet all new and factory rebuilt engines come with one fitted as standard. Does that mean I will have to remove it if I buy a engine from the factory?
Which engine is this on, and which airframe has that engine on its Type Certificate?
Any reason to believe it will not receive EASA approval shortly?
It is much cheaper than Electroair – half the price to buy, and takes just a fraction of the time to install. The downside is that is requires an engine analyzer for input ( and a failure in the engine analyzer would probably mean that the airplane is grounded). It also does not claim any performance gains, which the Electroair does – but reports are that both will add a little bit of performance.
