TECHNIQUE BY IAN J. TWOMBLY ILLUSTRATION BY CHARLES FLOYD IN-FLIGHT MAG CHECK A MORE DEMANDING TEST IF YOU'VE TAKEN EVEN ONE LESSON YOU'VE PERFORMED A check of the airplane's magnetos and its ignition system. That pre-takeoff ritual can expose issues with the equipment, reveal the presence of lead deposits on the spark plugs, or even find a missing P-lead that could create an unsafe situation with ground handling. But have you performed this check in the air? AOPA contributor and maintenance expert Mike Busch advocates for in-flight magneto checks because doing so can reveal problems earlier than the less demanding ground test. The process is largely the same. FT ian.twombly@aopa.org Perform the test at a normal cruise power setting and after properly leaning the mixture. As on the ground, turn off one magneto by switching to Left or Right on the ignition. 28 FLIGHT TRAINING AUGUST 2022