View Single Post
  #8  
Unread 02-06-03, 01:17 PM
Paul Sharp Paul Sharp is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Salt Lake City
Posts: 248
Paul Sharp is an unknown quantity at this point
I have heard what he said before. I don't know enough to suggest pros or cons, but I've taken a practice of not checking them inflight (at least at a higher power setting than that recommended during runup) unless there's an emergency and I needed to switch from one to the other to see if it solved a problem.

I did have an interesting experience in a Piper Turbo Arrow a few years back. They are notorious for developing arc-ing in the mags over 12,000 feet unless a $250 (at least that's what it cost then) "pressurized mag kit" was installed. All it consisted of was a hose running from the turbo to the mags to keep the ambient pressure higher - which in turn made less resistance across the cap than across the points and hence discourage arcing.

I had asked the FBO about this before taking the plane high, and he didn't know if it had the kit or not. So I rounded up an A&P to check and it did not. However the FBO owner assured me that it was "no problem" and that if I didn't get up to 18,000 or more it wouldn't be a factor. (In those days I was more willing to take someone's word on such a thing than I am now...) So off we went. Early in the AM, still dark and at 14,500 over central Nevada, on O2, cruising along with a cloud deck at about 12,000 below, bingo, the mags start to arc. Really gets your attention. It turned out OK in that the airplane flew just fine on into Elko (1/2 hour flight), even holding the altitude just fine. But that was the exeperience that made me decide I was going to fly twins. For IMC, night, and with family aboard, I don't like the idea of one mill quitting without having another to depend on.

I quit using that FBO. They never did find the problem, even though I told them what it surely was. I talked to the A/C owner a year later and it was still running rough. I told him to have them replace the mags (or caps or whatever) and have them stop fooling around with the fuel flow and etc. Don't know if he ever got them to admit and solve the real problem.
Reply With Quote