Electronic ignition for D3000 single shaft dual magneto engines

This is quite relevant.

Another update posted in the US. Not good news!

So, we need one of

Back-up battery dedicated to one EIS.
Back-up alternator.
Dual electrical buss systems (likely only found at the OEM level).

This is not what people expected. Probably the first is most feasible. A backup alternator has been done (I have one) as a US Field Approval. Good luck doing it under EASA…

Of course, for a “full electronic ignition” you do want full autonomy, but this is what a magneto gives you, which, ahem, is why we still use magnetos But people didn’t expect this from a D3000 replacement electronic ignition. I think people expected some sort of “power generator” in there, which would be easy to do. There is plenty of room for a small alternator, with a permanent magnet rotor. I guess this just shows the generally low calibre of people working in GA engineering.

The market must be many thousands. Around 2k TBs but many more Mooneys and others.

Paying 7k for version beta 0.0.0.1… I will wait for somebody else to try this

Why the backup battery, when a) all batteries die eventually and b) they could have generated power from the drive shaft?

See above.

Whether it actually exists, someone would have to ask them.

Given how many years it has taken them to get this done, I would want to see loads of working installations for some years before betting the entire engine on it.

Well, I can think of several pilots who would at this point attack me for an attitude which “keeps technological progress in GA back in the Middle Ages”, while they post the exact opposite (i.e. my view) on their domestic forums

I have been in electronics since age 6 (1963) and “commercially” since 1978, and my opinion of GA electronics is as low as you can get. You will get the idea of my opinion here as I dismantle various examples of the junk we have to fly with

I would need to see the internals of this D3000 replacement before even thinking about risking it. Maybe it is wonderful?

The May 2023 US AOPA mag ran a review of the Electroair electronic ignition for the D3000 magazine.

The article starts with an overview of the D3000

Well, not quite. The only way the single steel shaft of the D3000 can fail to rotate is if the accessory gearbox is shredded, and then the two separate mags won’t be rotating either. Or your camshaft… The SPOF is really via a breakup of one half of the mag and debris from that affecting the other half. It can happen, but IIRC a more common failure has been for the whole mag to come out of the engine because its two securing brackets have broken off – probably because they were under- or over-tightened by some chimp. Checking them is possible as a preflight, at least on the TB20.

They also state a D3000 overhaul is $3000 which is about 2x too high. I use QAA in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

They could not quite test it though

The others said:

Mooney M20J:

• easier starting
• airborne 200ft sooner
• 20-30% better rate of climb
• 5% less fuel burn but flying 3-4kt faster
• CHTs 15-20F higher
• EGTs considerably lower

Cessna TR182:

• cannot flood the engine anymore
• no rpm drop during preflight mag checks
• EGTs 200F lower
• TIT 150F lower
• CHTs 40F higher
• engine feels more powerful

Unfortunately it is not a standalone backup – unlike the dual-mag EI product (but that one is uncertified). It needs external power, with two sources. There are two options for the 2nd one:

• a battery (a voltage gauge is mounted on the panel)
• a backup alternator (there are some STCs from B&C, or you can do a field approval like I did)

Personally I find the extra power claims incredible, unless the original D3000 mag was shagged or mis-timed.

Electroair confirm that you can expect +20F on the CHT.