Early History & Development
The initial idea for an aircraft electronic ignition system was generated by an experimenter named Jeff Rose. Electronic ignition systems had conceptually been considered for aircraft for many years, but Jeff decided to do more than simply think of how to put it all together. Jeff went ahead and did what many thought impossible at the time. In 1992, Jeff mounted ignition coils on an aluminum plate, added a Manifold Pressure (MAP) Sensor to measure air volume inside of an engine, coupled a very accurate trigger mechanism for determining engine position, and brought it all under control with a circuit designed to control the spark event. The result was a high energy, variable timed, fully electronic ignition system that gave piston powered experimental aircraft an increase in useful power and lower fuel consumption.
Electroair Acquisition Corp acquired Jeff’s inventory and designs in 2005 and postulated an advance into the world of certified aircraft. The first STC was obtained a few years later after an arduous process of testing and proving to the FAA that an electronic ignition system can be safe and viable for General Aviation. Tests under the FAA, which included DO178 and DO 160 validations and long-term endurance tests, were costly and successful. Now, there are over 3,500 experimental systems flying and over 1,200 certificated aircraft systems delivered. The Electroair ignition systems are approved on over 400 aircraft models today, and Electroair continues to expand the approvals by adding models and obtaining international certifications including EASA, ANAC, and others. Electroair has recently earned two additional STCs for control modules that can interface with the electronic ignition and the older magneto ignition system. Electroair continues to expand its current STCs with additional models and regulatory agency approvals.
The Electroair STC is the only one to have both engines and airframes on the same STC. Typically, a system like the Electroair system would be covered with two FAA-STCs. Being able to have the system approved under a single STC reduces the amount of resources required to make changes to the design or expand the approved eligibility list. Besides the technical accomplishments, Electroair has also made great strides in building on the quality of our brand established in 1992. Recognizing the traditional method of delivering products to General Aviation customers is somewhat dated, Electroair established some strong ground rules which helps keep end user prices at a market-acceptable level. Electroair recognized early on that this was going to be a “pull” type sale and has spent a great deal of time educating consumers and installers of the virtue of electronic ignitions. Electroair has further expanded its relationships with installers by developing a growing network of Installation Centers. These Centers receive individual training and coaching on the how-to’s of not only installing electronic ignitions, but on how to sell electronic ignitions and how incorporating these systems into their business model makes profitable sense.
Electroair also engages the General Aviation community directly. Through a selective ad campaign which focuses on owner’s groups and popular GA publications, Electroair has achieved a broad presence. Beyond advertising, Electroair reaches the GA community directly by participating in aviation events throughout the country. Visibility at the these events combined with training forums, educates the GA owners, operators, and maintainers about the virtues of electronic ignition systems and how their aircraft can simply perform better.
All of these tools have helped to build the Electroair name and brand into the recognized leader of aircraft ignition systems.
