| Re: [GMCnet] Non-GMC engine question [message #89288] |
Sun, 20 June 2010 06:32 |
Gary Casey
Messages: 448
Registered: September 2009
Karma: 0
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Senior Member |
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Hal,
I can't really say there is anything bad about doing the inflight mag check, but I have a "rule" - or may it is a superstition - that I avoid shutting important things, like the engine, off in flight. So I am reluctant to shut of one of the two ignition systems in the air. Should I be? I try to switch fuel tanks over airports and and if I were going to do a mag check I would also do it over an airport (and probably only in the daytime). It would be just my luck that the ignition switch would jam or if the engine were truly running on 3 when I switched one mag off the extra fuel could light in the muffler, blowing it up and creating a real emergency. Okay, maybe I'm paranoid :-).
I have a friend with a dual battery, dual alternator, dual bus system and he was telling me what he would do if something or other quit. It was full of "shut this off, turn on the interconnect, try this, reset that breaker..... and on. I was thinking what I would do if I had the same failure. My instinct would be to not touch anything and land at the nearest airport. Then think about it. I used to routinely fly across Lake Michigan (summer, day only) and there was about 5 minutes at my normal altitude of 15,000 where gliding to either shore was uncertain. My rule was not to touch anything during that time. Not throttle, not mixture, not anything.
Ken, Gary,
As one who routinely does in flight mag checks, I wonder why you would not do the check at night at 3500 ft? What could go wrong that hasn't already gone wrong? Bad mag will show up, bad lead or plug will be confirmed - go back to both and engine will run as before. Sometimes the engine will run fine on one mag when it won't on both. Please enlighten me as I don't see any downside.
Hal Kading 77 Kingsley 455 Las Cruces NM
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