Mailing List flyrotary@lancaironline.net Message #55199
From: Ernest Christley <echristley@att.net>
Subject: Re: [FlyRotary] Re: New impeller design
Date: Wed, 25 May 2011 10:11:19 -0400
To: Rotary motors in aircraft <flyrotary@lancaironline.net>
Charles Davis wrote:

If an impeller were to be cast for this air-induction/super-charging application, and was tied-in to the e-shaft (key-way or similar) would it work to have a suitable magnet cast-in to the periphery of the impeller, so that two coils could be mounted, 180 degrees apart, to provide ‘magneto-type’ spark to one set of plugs – one coil per rotor at 180* for a 2-rotor, and 120* for a 3-rotor – this sounds, to me, so simple that I am surprised nobody has done it before – how good would it be to have a completely battery-independent ignition system for amateur-built aircraft ? … maybe I should shaddup, & return to lurking …



The system you describe has been working perfectly a lot longer than I've been alive.  All I can say is, don't let your wife catch you pulling the flywheel off your lawn mower to power your airplane 8*)  There is a magnet cast into the flywheel, and the coil is built around a C shaped stack of stamped steel.  That flywheel could possibly handle the RPM of the eshaft (but I wouldn't dare bet anything important on it).

I think the only issue you'd have is modifying the advance.  You could accept the "good 'nuff" compromise of a static 20* to 25* in exchange for the bone dry simplicity.  Possibly driving just the trailing plugs as a dead generator backup.  That, combined with a gravity feed system would make your engine electrically independent.  Or you could try to design some sort of advance control.  Maybe use a MegaSquirt and write some code to control a stepper motor that moves the pickup?

I'm currently trying to use the space between the engine and the gearbox mount plate to install a blower and a generator.  I think that is enough multipurposing of a single piece of aluminum for now.  However, at some point in the future I may need a new lawn mower.  8*)




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