Old Geek, I decided to start a new thread because I think your question needs to be answered in a more serious way. First, let me make it clear I see NOTHING wrong with the way Ted handled his situation.
I may be considered a newbie also, 35 years and 7000 hours. I too would expect if the offending mag was switched off (grounded) that even though you would have less than optium performance I would expect a reasonable running engine. You might need to tweek the mixture but, again I would be surprised if the engine would not run quite well on one mag. I have lost a mag on more than one occasion (single and twin)and so far it has been pretty well a non event. As one here said you need to know your equipment and what you can and can't do.
On another note if you left the offending mag "on line" then there are many things that can go wrong with a mag. They are failure modes that can mess up timing, cross fire can occur causing a very rough engine. Something mechanical could have broke in the drive system in which case additional damage could result even if switched off.
So having said that, again Ted did the right thing. He had a problem with an engine. Even in a twin it is time to land. Old Geek, notice Ted took the time to figure out the best place to land and not just the first available flat spot. Shows a cool head, not rushing a situation where it becomes a much worse emergency. Should an emergency be declared everytime a mag fails? Another thread, another time.
I may be considered a newbie also, 35 years and 7000 hours. I too would expect if the offending mag was switched off (grounded) that even though you would have less than optium performance I would expect a reasonable running engine. You might need to tweek the mixture but, again I would be surprised if the engine would not run quite well on one mag. I have lost a mag on more than one occasion (single and twin)and so far it has been pretty well a non event. As one here said you need to know your equipment and what you can and can't do.
On another note if you left the offending mag "on line" then there are many things that can go wrong with a mag. They are failure modes that can mess up timing, cross fire can occur causing a very rough engine. Something mechanical could have broke in the drive system in which case additional damage could result even if switched off.
So having said that, again Ted did the right thing. He had a problem with an engine. Even in a twin it is time to land. Old Geek, notice Ted took the time to figure out the best place to land and not just the first available flat spot. Shows a cool head, not rushing a situation where it becomes a much worse emergency. Should an emergency be declared everytime a mag fails? Another thread, another time.