I'm sorry but that seems to me to be exactly the same thing, unless in the case of the "live mag" check they are both switched off together, in which case, which one is keeping the engine running is unknown until a "dead cut" is done. Making the "live"check unnecessary.
Please forgive the pedantics.
Crash one:
Yes. Just to clarify: During a 'live mag' check you momentarily turn off both mags together and check that the engine cuts out.
This is only necessary where the 'both off' position of the switches is different from the 'left off/right off' positions, and the engine is stopped by a method other than switching the mags off; eg. leaning the mixture.
In short, it's a piss poor design; style at the expense of function, style at the cost of introducing unnecessary complication and potential for misunderstanding to trainee pilots who really don't need such distractions.
That is my point!
SSD:
I agree. But we have to operate the aircraft as they are, and not as we would like them to be.
Like it or not, rotary switches introduce added complication and extra modes of failure. We have to be aware of that and operate them accordingly.
By the way, rotary mag switches are not new, nor were they invented by the Americans.
MJ
