Design of an ignition system for an 18-cylinder aircraft engine

Alexander C. Wall (nonmember; P. R. Mallory and Company, Inc., Indianapolis, Ind.): It is very encouraging to see a paper on the subject of ignition-system design. There appears to have been a great lack of technical publication on the vital and complicated subject of magneto design, especially for the severe duty application to aircraft. It is a rather well-established fact that the primary factor in causing engine failure and expense in the servicing of airplanes in general is due by a very wide margin to the ignition system. It certainly seems that this subject, therefore, should receive considerable attention from a technical-design-improvement standpoint.