🚨 New White Paper Alert! 🚨

A new deep-dive technical and cultural analysis is now available: “The Red Knob Is Obsolete: Why It’s Time for FADEC in GA Aircraft.” Whether you’re a builder, a tech-forward pilot, or just someone tired of fiddling with mixture at 10,500 feet, it’s a thoughtful read worth checking out.

TL;DR: What’s in the Paper?

This white paper examines the evolution of engine management in general aviation, focusing on Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) and why it’s high time we ditch the antiquated combo of magnetos, manual mixture controls, and carburetors. It highlights the technical superiority of FADEC systems — smoother operation, better fuel economy, reduced pilot workload, smarter diagnostics — and uses engines like the Rotax 9 series as real-world proof that it works and works well.

It also unpacks why traditional manufacturers like Lycoming and Continental have dragged their feet on widespread FADEC adoption: cost, certification inertia, and a deeply conservative pilot culture that clings to the myth of mechanical reliability.

Enough Already — It’s Time to Kill the Red Knob

Let’s not sugarcoat this: the fact that most GA aircraft in 2025 are still flying with WWII-era engine tech is embarrassing. Magnetos? Manual mixture controls? Carburetors? We’ve got glass cockpits up front and Flintstones under the cowl.

FADEC has been standard in cars, jets, and turbines for decades — because it works. Meanwhile, in GA, we’re still training pilots how to lean the mixture just right so they don’t cook a cylinder at cruise. It’s like teaching someone to hand-crank a Model T and calling it “character building.”

Enough. It’s time for general aviation to grow up and plug in.

Manual mixture control isn’t just outdated — it’s inefficient and error-prone. Pilots spend endless time tweaking the red knob to run Lean of Peak (LOP) or Rich of Peak (ROP) based on EGT readings, trying to find that elusive sweet spot between fuel economy and engine cooling. And you don’t just do it once — you have to do it again every time the power setting or altitude changes. Climbing through 3,000 feet? Time to lean again. Level at 9,500 feet? Re-lean. Starting descent? Better enrich, or risk rough running. This isn’t precision — it’s a guessing game with stakes.

Meanwhile, a FADEC engine does it all automatically:

• It adjusts the mixture for max power during takeoff,
• Leans you to LOP at cruise without overthinking it,
• Keeps CHTs in check,
• And transitions cleanly without your input.

That’s not just convenience — it’s fuel savings. Studies show properly tuned FADEC systems can cut fuel burn by 10–15%, sometimes more, especially when most pilots are still flying ROP out of caution or lack of precise data. That adds up. Over a few hundred hours, you’re saving real money — not to mention making your fuel tank stretch further on cross-country legs.

So let’s say it loud: the red knob is dead. If you’re buying or building a plane in 2025 and you’re still speccing out magnetos and mixture levers, you’re making a mistake. Not just technologically, but philosophically.

You wouldn’t buy a car that required manual spark advance and carb heat. You shouldn’t fly one either.

FADEC: The Facts, Not the Fear

FADEC systems like those in the Rotax 91?iS series, ULPower engines, and Continental’s PowerLink have proven themselves across thousands of aircraft and hundreds of thousands of flight hours. They adjust ignition timing and fuel-air mixture dynamically, per cylinder, in real time. The result? Smoother operation, lower fuel burn, and better engine longevity — all without requiring a degree in thermodynamics from the pilot.

And before anyone says “but computers fail,” let’s talk redundancy: dual ECUs, dual fuel pumps, dual alternators, failover logic, warning lights, and limp-home modes. You know what doesn’t have any of that? Your magneto. And guess what: they fail more often than you think.

Here’s what FADEC actually brings to the table:

• Single-lever engine control – No mixture knob, no carb heat. Just throttle and go.
• Dynamic ignition timing – Each cylinder gets optimized spark timing every cycle, improving efficiency and power delivery.
• Automatic mixture management – Rich when it needs to be, lean when it should be. No guesswork, no risk of over-leaning or running too rich.
• Improved fuel economy – Savings of 10–15% are realistic, especially at cruise.
• Smoother operation – Balanced fuel flows and smart timing mean fewer vibrations and more even cylinder temps.
• Better cold and hot starts – The ECU adjusts for temperature conditions automatically — no priming rituals or hot-start voodoo.
• Advanced diagnostics – Real-time alerts and logged engine data enable proactive maintenance and quicker troubleshooting.
• Redundancy and reliability – Dual systems, backup power, and graceful failover modes make FADEC systems robust and dependable.

This isn’t futuristic wishful thinking — it’s already here. And it’s being flown every day by thousands of pilots who enjoy a smarter, simpler, and more efficient engine experience.

Culture Is the Culprit

The reason FADEC isn’t the standard in GA isn’t technical. It’s cultural.

We’ve built a mythology around “simple, proven” engines — the O-200, the IO-360 — despite the fact that they require constant pilot babysitting and still manage to break down regularly. We’ve convinced ourselves that the red knob equals control, when it really just adds risk and complexity. We’ve made an entire generation of pilots afraid of wires and circuit boards, while they trust their iPhones with more computing power than an F-16.

It’s not because FADEC isn’t reliable. It’s because some pilots think “digital” means “dangerous.” They’re wrong.

Time to Disrupt the Status Quo

So let’s say it loud: the red knob is dead. If you’re buying or building a plane in 2025 and you’re still speccing out magnetos and mixture levers, you’re making a mistake. Not just technologically, but philosophically.

You wouldn’t buy a car that required manual spark advance and carb heat. You shouldn’t fly one either.

It’s time for pilots, instructors, builders, and manufacturers to push the industry forward. FAA certification inertia is real, but consumer demand speaks louder. Want a better, safer, smarter airplane? Ask for FADEC. Build for FADEC. Fly FADEC. And tell your hangar neighbor who still insists on “running rich of peak” to join us in the 21st century.

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🛫 Read the full paper: “The Red Knob Is Obsolete: Why It’s Time for FADEC in GA Aircraft”