Ragsf15e

Here’s from their website. They don’t call it “stronger”… PERFORMANCE SureFly Ignition Modules deliver a more consistent spark energy with higher accuracy than traditional magnetos. Variable timing advance provides SureFly customers real fuel savings. Low power consumption and light weight (up to 2 lbs. lighter than a Bendix magneto) make SureFly Ignition Modules light on fuel and light on the wallet too.

I don’t think it’s a “stronger spark”. I don’t even think Surefly claims a stronger spark (electroair does). I think it’s the timing difference. @aviatoreb did a loo mag check and didn’t notice a difference because his SF is set on fixed timing. Mine is on advanced timing which allows advance timing based on their semisecret MP and rpm formula. I think the timing is why there’s a clear difference in my lop check. You’re right, on the ground, there’s no difference in a mag check, because there’s no advance.

Maybe, but they seem much smaller when you’re digging through my faa approved shag carpets.

I would probably leave it alone too. There’s a reasonable amount of thermal inertia in the engine block and oil that those temps are likely actually different than the air temp in your hangar. You’d just be guessing where/how much to adjust it.

The reason for the jokes is that the “ball” is about .5mm diameter. It’s tiny. I found one once after my IA lost it. He’d already ordered the 100 pack like @N201MKTurbo. Probably smarter than looking for something that small in an old cockpit.

Surefly mag. It’s an electronic “modern”magneto. Works well for me. Some folks had issues with early 28v models. It can do some basic advance timing.

No doubt. Is there even a model that offered that as an option?

True, but many of the mechanical ones show no Red X when they or the vacuum fails…

No problem. It’s a frustrating issue because the air leaks (if that’s the cause) are invisible. Be careful and be sure about the torque on the servo bowl. It’s breakable and hard to replace. The spec is in the maintenance manual. Just be gentle and it’s ok. Good luck!

I tried to do a LOP mag check today and here's what it looks like with a Surefly in advance setting. I was only at 6,500' (~24.1" MP), so it would be even worse higher because it would have more advance. Egts went up when I turned off the mag, but not a lot and the engine was still smooth. Slight decrease in speed, but barely. When I turned off the SF, EGTs went way up, very rough, and airspeed dropped quickly (#2 plug may be a bit weak too?). I know yours is different since it's fixed timing, but since we were talking about it earlier, I'll post it here. Before switching back to both, I pulled power back to prevent the backfire as SF takes 5-10ms to come back online - you can see the EGTs all fall together at the end.

Flying gliders is great “hip pocket” experience when it gets real quiet and you need to pick a reasonable place to set it down safely. Glad you didn’t have to pull the wings and trailer it though! Well done.

I have had mine in there for a long time without updating them. They work great and I’d prefer to leave them alone.

I think you’d be worse off with one in the naca duct due to the engine heat being so close. My windshield one and my underwing jpi were always similar. The rsm is probably designed to work in its position. I have inadvertently ops tested my jpi probe on ifr flight… 0 degree indication = no ice, -1, ice just barely started forming ice on leading edge. Got a descent and ice melted off 0-1 degree. Close enough for me!

I’m across the mts in Spokane and will give you a ride in an F model Mooney if you’re around. My wife and I have twin 6 year olds and fly all over the Northwest. It works well in the summer, but you’ll find it hard to cross the cascades between October and April. Icing in the northwest limits our reliable dispatch to the summer for trips. Day trips across are possible on nice days in the winter. Plan for ~144 kts, 10gph and carrying ~600lbs of people/bags ~500nm. You won’t want to be in the airplane longer than that anyway. Oregon coast trips are awesome in the Mooney too!

I agree with having the sealed fittings, unfortunately most of the fittings are flared fittings and aren’t supposed to require sealant. I think even a small air leak can cause this.

Yes, I called tempest to ask about the fuel pump causing this, and they said that was unlikely, but they do have problems with the O-rings on the connection into the fuel pump. So that’s another place to look. You may not see fuel leaking it may just be air leaking very small into the system. You’ve got to have sealed fuel fittings.

This thread is good…

So as @Browncbr1 alluded to, there are lots of things that can cause this. I would say it’s unlikely that it’s the sensor. I have an EDM 930 and had the exact same indication for about two years. JP I was adamant that the sensors don’t normally fail that way. They did say it could be an EMI off of an unshielded wire in the engine compartment. However I had steady indications a few years back, then fluctuating for ~2 years, now steady again. Mine was finally fixed by re-securing all the fuel lines. I think I had a very very small air leak somewhere. When I finally got a steady indication again, it was after I removed and reinstalled all the connections from the fuel servo to the fuel pressure sensor. I’m not saying that fixed it, but for the last six months or so I’ve had a nice steady fuel pressure indication. I’ll try to attach the thread where we went through all of this a few months back. To answer your question though, a failing mechanical fuel pump will leak out the drain in the bottom of the engine compartment. It will be either oil or fuel coming out. There are two diaphragms in there. If one fails it should still work and it won’t fluctuate. If both fail, well that’s not good. It should not cause a fluctuation.

I have had 3 chrome cylinders “overhauled” and they’ve been fine so far. Not sure exactly what magic tgey did on them, but when I tried to have the 4th done a couple years later, I found it very difficult to find a shop that could do it. Ended up buying a steel one.

You beat me!

Here’s a picture. Hanna City is about.75nm across. Not sure what fields are corn, but it appears fields were available vs a small city street. Always tough to second guess, especially because he did actually land under control (not stalled).

Agree. I wonder if someone can post a satellite picture of the landing sight and we could see what he might have had to choose from? Roads have hard things all around them. Fields usually not but depends on the field.

Got a better shot today… left to right, Adams, Rainier, St Helens…

PA46T. Gotta have the fuel caps out that far to fit 85 gallons in each wing. Going that way in the Mooney in a couple weeks, I’ll get a new picture with a prettier wing.

Also, the ebay add says it’s an M20E, but its registration is definitely a 1982 K.