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I don't work for GAMI and I do not speak for them. What I am about to post is based on what I have seen and understand about the system and is not to be taken as any official position from the company, in any way. WIth that caveat, here goes:
I really don't know on delivery, but it's looking more like a production product every time I see it. I've already flown part of it. Cost is hoped to be in the neighborhood of a pair of Bendix mags over the TBO run of the engine--I suspect, a tad more. I consider that a home-run on cost. The installation appears very simple and straight forward. There is ONE small firewall connector that gets the information through the firewall to the electrical load-sharing display. When I saw this connector installed on the airplane I flew, I was shocked at it's simplicity. (There could be one or two wire pairs to a panel switch as well, I'm not sure. In any case, it's not the migraine of wires, sensors, and connectors I've seen on other systems.) One 2 1/4 inch display on the panel and, essentially, everything else goes on the engine. The mags are removed and the two PRISM "mag-shaped units" are installed in their place. ONE sensor is installed in each of ONE special spark plug in the top position of each cylinder. (you will still use normal plugs on the bottom.) These "mag-shaped units" will be connected to the electrical brain by a very few wires, I didn't even call it a *bundle* when I saw it! A few wires, a few electrical connections to the load-sharing unit that will come already done and you're finished. My guess is that it weighs close to the same as a pair of Bendix 1200s... within a couple of pounds and certainly not tens of pounds more. The PRISM units are lighter than mags and there are so few wires and only six micro sensors (one for each cylinder), I can't imagine it weighing much. I haven't weighed it, though.
The coolest thing about it is that if your battery has enough voltage to turn the starter, the unit has enough juice to fire the plugs. It needs no secondary battery for voltage during starting like other systems. The design is elegant in it's simplicity and tranformational in it's operation.
I really think I could install the unit with no help in a weekend. I'm thinking two guys could do it on a Saturday. The most time-consuming part of the installation will be finding a place to mount the relatively small brain box. I'm guessing that the installation costs will be quite modest. I could be wrong on these observations, but those are my gut feelings at this point.
Walter
On Feb 25, 2005, at 7:33 AM, billhogarty wrote:
For Walter:
Can you give us a crystal ball guess of when PRISIM might be available for the experimental market, estimated costs, and what type of installation would be required?
Thanks, Bill Hogarty
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