Slick magnetos, now manufactured by Kelly Aerospace were originally produced by a company started by Fred Slick when he left JI CASE in the 1950’s. The company was later purchased by Unison Industries. The original Slick magnetos were the 400 and 600 Series, such as the 662 and were almost identical to the CAM 4 and CAM 6 magnetos produced by Case for the aviation market.
These magnetos, both the early Slick’s and Case models can still be found on some engines. They are repairable but are generally replaced as the Bendix magnetos and newer Slick models are more reliable and produce a hotter spark. In the mid 1960’s Slick developed the 4000 Series of “compact” magnetos to compete with the Bendix S20 magnetos. The most common models are the 4001 and 4051.
They were marketed as “throw away” units to be run for 600 hours and replaced. Slick never published any maintenance data and never offered parts for them. Some are still in service but they have outlived their service life and should not be considered airworthy. The line has continued through the 4200/6200 Series to the current 4300/6300 Series. Examples would be the 4370 and 6351.
They are available for almost all engine models.
The Slick magnetos are generally considered to have a somewhat weaker spark than comparable Bendix models.
They are easily repaired but parts are quite expensive. It is usually less expensive to simply replace them.
Please note that Kelly Aerospace will only give “core credit” for the 4300/6300 Series. Returning a 4000 or 4200/6200 Series does not qualify.
Point Aviation can provide troubleshooting, repair and 500 Hour Inspection services for most 4200/6200 and 4300/6300 series magnetos.