WEST LAFAYETTE, Indiana — When they approach a Piper Archer at Purdue University Airport, student pilots and maintenance personnel know with certainty that the engine and propeller are turned off thanks to a safety device created by Purdue Polytechnic Institute experts, which is now available for licensing.
Michael Davis and Jon Ziulkowski have designed patented magneto safety guards for all 18 Piper Archer aircraft in Purdue’s fleet. Davis is the director of aircraft maintenance, and Ziulkowski is a senior lecturer and Part 141 flight operations quality assessment manager in the School of Aviation and Transportation Technology.
“The guard is a clip that fits over the magneto switch at the top of the flight deck only when it is turned off,” Ziulkowski said. “While the clip is in place, the engine cannot be powered on; when the engine is on, the clip cannot be placed over the switch. A footlong ‘remove before flight’ ribbon attached to the clip provides a visual indication to people outside the flight deck that the clip is in place.”
“We also have designed the clip to accept a lock that keeps the guard in place,” Davis added. “This prevents our students from accidentally attempting to power up an aircraft that is down for maintenance or inspection.”
Magnetos and safety
A magneto is a self-contained electrical generator that provides spark plugs in an aircraft’s internal combustion engine with the energy needed to ignite the fuel-air mixture. When the magneto switch is on, the aircraft’s engine and propeller remain on with no external indication of their status.
The magneto switch in the Piper Archer is part of an overhead line of switches in the flight deck. Davis said before the magneto safety guard was implemented for the Purdue fleet, it was a common occurrence for student pilots to forget to turn off the switches.
“Purdue students fly the 18 Piper Archer aircraft five to six times per day, six days per week and, weather permitting, extra time on Sunday,” Davis said. “Around 25 safety reports were filed for these occurrences after the Purdue fleet was upgraded to the newest models in 2020. Since the magneto safety guard and lock have been used, no safety reports have been filed for accidentally leaving the magneto switch on.”
The safety guards for the Purdue fleet were manufactured in the Indiana Manufacturing Institute, located in the Purdue Research Park of West Lafayette.
The Purdue Innovates Office of Technology Commercialization has applied for a patent that protects the intellectual property of the magneto safety guard. Anyone interested in commercializing it should contact Matt Halladay, senior business development manager and licensing manager — physical sciences, at mrhalladay@prf.org, about track code 69452.
For more information: Purdue.edu
