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October 1999

    To see photo of aviation engine: Click Here

EAA’s Monthly Membership Magazine

October 1999; "Hot Line", page 12
Submitted by: Ray Freisenhahm
Senior Projects Manager at Techlink
NASA/MSU-Bozeman Partnership in Technology Transfer and Commercialization

SmartPlug Introduced

{highlights from the article}

Mark Cherry "has developed a new ignition device [his] company believes is capable of replacing magnetos and other types of ignition systems. Called the SmartPlug, the device is about the size and shape of a spark plug and crews into a standard spark plug hole. It differs from a standard plug (or glow plug), however, in that it incorporates a small precombustion chamber containing a catalyst that ignites the engine's fuel/air mixture. The catalyst is heated at startup by an integral direct current heater, but once the engine begins to run, the catalyst remains hot enough on its own to continue igniting the mixture, without any further need of electrical power or timing mechanisms. Just one SmartPlug per cylinder is needed and virtually any common fuel can be used, including Jet-A

Part of the development of the SmartPlug has been financed by a NASA small business innovative research (SBIR) contract. In a recent demonstration at NASA Glenn, a Continental 0-200 equipped with SmartPlugs produced normal power on 87 octane and 100LL avgas and actually picked up 75 rpm using Jet-A with no visible exhaust emissions."

Phone: 208.265.2723
Email: info@smartplugs.com
SmartPlug is protected by US and International Patents.