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(Cochrane Alberta Canada) Follow recent flights at: https://aprs.fi/cgmbk *******************Also YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfxJXIwvmfNlNF3gwplFw7Q

Monday, July 10, 2017

My New Electronic Ignition Installation

July 26 2017
The CPI System is timed by a Hall Sensor style of ignition timing.  I had a custom bracket fabricated for the support of the Hall Sensor and it was triangulated to mounting points on the front of the engine. This so there could not be any movement of the Hall Sensor position.

















Below is a top down photo of the Hall magnetic pickup.  The magnets have yet to be installed into three of the propeller bolts.  the mnagnets will stick out of the face of the bolt head about 3/16 of an inch.




July 18 2017
The Coil packs sit on top of my engine and the photo below shows the aluminum mounting plate I had made up to support them.  One coil pack is for the upper plugs and the second is for the lower spark plugs.

July 10 2017
I am installing an Electronic Ignition system on my aircraft to eliminate the Bendix D3000 dual magneto that is presently installed on the back of the engine.  The Electronic Ignition system is a made in Canada solution from a reputable supplier of ignitions for race car and aviation purposes.  The company is Racetech Inc. and the product they have for my application is the CPI (Coil Pack Ignition) System.  This is the system designed by "Racetech Inc." for engines which are normally aspirated.  They also have another product designed for the Fuel Injected engine.  Their web page can be viewed at  http://www.sdsefi.com/

There are two main reasons that I wish to change my ignition.  First I have been getting a lot of static over my radio that has been proved to be from both sides of the magneto.  Second the magneto is located on the back side of the engine case and if it has to be serviced the engine has to be removed to access the magneto.  This is not a ideal design but being the plane was designed for it's compactness, light weight and aerodynamic shape that was a necessary evil of this fabulous flying airplane.  As a result the magneto and starter sit inside of a recess well behind the main firewall.  I have had to remove the engine a couple of times to work on the magneto already and have been looking for a solution.  Removing the engine was a time consuming and arduous task needing some acrobatic agility.  Finally the cost of overhauling the magneto was more than the cost of a electronic ignition. The CPI offers the simplicity and reliability as used in most all automobiles these days.
Below is the result of the engine cowling that I had to enlarge the main propeller opening.

My project is not the first to go through this type of change but does require some specialized custom brackets to be made for my Revmaster aviation engine.  Racetech Inc. has made up brackets for more common aircraft engines but my engine is rare and so the customized brackets.