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 Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2008 3:13 pm Post subject: Part 3 P-Mag E-Mag Safety info.... |
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*************** Message forwarded from Canard Aviators list follows
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7.
Emagair Emag/Pmag Electronic Ignition warning - Part 3
Posted by: "Marc J. Zeitlin" marc_zeitlin(at)alum.mit.edu zeitlinm
Sun Sep 14, 2008 5:15 am (PDT)
Continued from Part 2:
In NJ, I received another replacement unit, went out to Caldwell
airport and installed it. Checks of both EI's indicated that they
were working.
The next day I took off and headed to OSH. About 1.5 hours out, over
Pennsylvania, one of the EI's started acting up with the same symptoms
as the first bad EI - slightly elevated CHT's, timing off a bit,
slightly lower power. I navigated from airport to airport, staying as
high as was necessary for glide distance, and made it to OSH in 6.5
hours - about 5 after the EI failure. At OSH, I removed the bad EI
and took it, along with the other two failed units, to the Emagair
booth at OSH. We disassembled the units and found that all three had
had catastrophic mechanical failures inside that caused them to not be
able to hold timing to any extent at all.
Emagair stated that they had not had any failures other than mine of
this type, but agreed that this was a design failure. They attributed
the failure to excessive vibration caused in some way by my engine,
and this plays back to the wear on the removed EI drive gears that Ken
Miller and I had seen two years previously. Emagair believed that
there was some strange thing going on in my engine that was causing
excessive vibration, which beat up the gears and which caused the
catastrophic failure of the sensor magnet holder that I had occur
three times.
I told them that I just needed to fly 11.5 hours more to get home to
Tehachapi, and that the plane would be grounded (which it is) for an
engine teardown. They did a temporary repair on two of the EI's,
which, along with the one in the plane that was still working, gave me
three to use for the 11.5 hour flight(s). When I left OSH a couple of
days later, I determined that I would also change my flight
characteristics to see if I could lessen the stress on the EI's - I
never let the RPM's exceed 2500, either in climb or cruise, and I
climbed at 140 mph to ensure excessive cooling to the EI. Since the
examination of the failed units had pointed to heat and vibration as
being the cause of the failures (mechanical - NOT electrical), I
wanted to change the heat and vibration signatures of my flying.
I was able to fly from OSH to TSP, with one stop in Tucumcari, NM,
without any further failures. The plane is grounded and is coming
apart; the EI's have been removed and returned, and I've got my refund.
Next, I'll describe the issues, the warning, and my recommendations.
To Be Continued:
--
Marc J. Zeitlin mailto:marc_zeitlin(at)alum.mit.edu
http://www.cozybuilders.org/
Copyright (c) 2008 http://www.mdzeitlin.com/Marc/
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