Sky-Tec Announces Newest
Sky-Tec Starter Series
SuperDuty 24V /ec* Series Starters FAA PMA
Approved
Now Available from Sky-Tec
Granbury, Texas July 11, 2008 -
Sky-Tec, the world's leading manufacturer of piston aircraft
engine starters, announces new twenty-four volt super duty
starters.
Sky-Tec's newest starters feature custom engineered 24 volt
motors capable of signicantly longer duty cycles.
"We designed the new starter series specifically for our
customers supporting larger fleets of "workhorse"
aircraft such as Piper Navajo Chieftains and Twin
Commanders," explains Rich Chiappe, Director of
Operations, Sales & Marketing for Sky-Tec.
"Cargo operators, flight schools operating 24V aircraft
and other "heavy duty" operators with frequent
quick-turn hot-starts are going to really appreciate the /ec*
series vastly extended duty cycle."
The new /ec* (*abbr. Extended Cranking) series
motors are available now on the following 24 Volt Sky-Tec
Lycoming starters:
Sky-Tec /ec* series starters are just as light as their non-/ec*
counterparts. There is no weight penalty for the
additional endurance. The only minor trade off is a
slightly slower rotation speed.
"The new /ec* series starters will still crank
significantly faster than OEM heavyweight starters and rotate
just 25% less fast than our traditional Flyweight™ and
High-Torque starters," explains Chiappe. "For
this reason, we are emphasizing the /ec* starters use
primarily only on larger 24 volt 540 and 720 powered aircraft.
We will continue to recommend the non /ec* variants for
injected four cylinder Lycoming engines and even some 540
aircraft that benefit more from the additional cranking RPM
than they would from an increased duty cycle. If a
customer's aircraft starts on two or three blades, it doesn't
make sense to switch to the /ec* series starters. They
should stick with the standard 24V non /ec* starter."
Chiappe adds. “But
for aircraft that require extended cranking cycles to start,
the new /ec* series starters could vastly increase starter
reliability over the long haul.”
The new starters are shipping to existing Sky-Tec Dealers now.
Pricing for the new starters will be offered at the same price
as the standard non /ec* starters for a limited time.
Customers with standard non /ec* HT or NL starters wishing to
convert to the /ec* series starter may send their starter to
Sky-Tec using http://www.skytecair.com/Obtain_RA.htm .
For a limited time, conversions will be made for the same
price as a normal starter overhaul ($175 for HT series
starters and $200 for NL series starters).
###
Flyweight™
is a registered trademark of Sky-Tec Partners, Ltd.
The C12ST3 and C24ST3 are patent-pending.
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Sky-Tec Discontinues Support
For Franklin Starters
Unavailability of suitable OEM components
causes starter manufacturer to make difficult decision
Granbury, Texas - October 15, 2008 - Due
to unavailability of suitable OEM components, Sky-Tec can no
longer support customers of Sky-Tec’s F-Series Franklin
Engine starters.
“Sky-Tec
has been unable to purchase quality, conforming Bendix/Purolator
‘Folo-Thru’ - type centrifugal drive assemblies for its
F-Series Franklin Engine starters for a number of years
now,” explained Rich Chiappe, Director of Operations, Sales
& Marketing for Sky-Tec. “That component was
manufactured by the former Bendix which was later purchased by
the Purolator companies.
When Purolotor shut down the product line down, the
source of OEM quality drives dried up nearly immediately.
Sky-Tec was able to purchase a limited inventory of NOS
drives sparingly since that time.
However, that inventory has long since been depleted
and Sky-Tec is no longer able to acquire conforming OEM or NOS
drive assemblies. Therefore,
we have no choice but to suspend support for the F-Series
Franklin engine starter line at this time.”
Sky-Tec invested tens of thousands of dollars developing and
certifying Sky-Tec F-Series starters for Franklin engines in
2000 and 2001. The
engines, manufactured at the time by PZL of Poland were
gaining popularity with airframe manufactures such as Maule.
“The Maule family was busy developing a PZL-Franklin
engine-powered M5 and asked us if Sky-Tec would develop a
lighter alternative to the 23lb. OEM starter.
In response to the request from Maule, we began working
on the project in 1998,”
Chiappe explained.
Certification was issued in 2000.
Only 150 F-Series starters for Franklin engines were
manufactured and sold between its release in 2000 and
suspension of manufacturing in 2006.
“Frankly, we’re pretty sure we never even came
close to recouping our development and certification
investment on the product,” Chiappe shared.
PZL shut down the Franklin line about the same time the
source of OEM centrifugal drives dried up.
Rights to manufacture Franklin engines has been tied up
in dispute ever since. Production
of new engines has yet to resume under new Romanian ownership
and is unlikely to produce significant installed engine
volumes in any reasonable time frame.
Owners of Sky-Tec F-Series starters for
Franklin engines can continue to receive support for the
electrical components of their starters.
But support for the centrifugal drive assemblies is no
longer available. Sky-Tec has exhausted attempts to find suitable replacement
drive assemblies. With
no practical way to develop a pro-rated credit for those
starters in use, no refund programs are currently planned for
owners of Sky-Tec F-Series starters for Franklin engines.
However, trade-in credit toward other Sky-Tec products
may be considered on a case-by-case basis.
While a complete redesign of the F-Series
starter eliminating the need for the Bendix-type centrifugal
drive assembly is mechanically feasible, the financial
investment is currently unjustifiable given the rapidly
elevating costs of development and certification compounded
with the dwindling size of the Franklin aircraft engine
market.
###
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FLYWEIGHTTM
STARTERS
