Aircraft Starter Lines From Kelly Aerospace Kelly Aerospace has been providing OEM starters to aircraft owners, pilots, and flight training schools worldwide for over 20yrs. Ready to Fly! We start up your Lycoming, Continental, & Experimental engines knowing each and every aircraft starter that rolls off the line reveals True Aviation Design & Developement. See why Lamar and Sky-Tec owners everywhere are switching to Kelly Starters We know Performance is the most important aspect and what you want in a new starter! The important key measurements in assessing a starter's performance are engine Cranking Speed (rpm), electric Current Draw (amps), and Duty Cycle. If your "Fast crank speed" or "Fabulous spin" comes at a cost of high inrush current and automotive engineering to then slap on your aircraft, how can you trust it? |
Best Duty Cycle - More Starts! Design & Source Control It is vital to understand the importance of a part being Engineering Excellence
|
The E-Drive Starter from Kelly Aerospace is Lycoming Approved and Chosen! Now selected by Lycoming for OE Factory installations. E-Drive starters have the Toughest Duty Cycle in the industry, exceeding other starters by 40%. Ready to Fly, for weekend flyers or hard starting flight schools. The E-Drive is the only starter that offers Ultimate Kick-back Protection. E-Drive Starter Features:
|
The X-Drive Starter from Kelly Aerospace is the Lightest Aircraft Starter Available for your Lycoming or Experimental Engine! The X-Drive is one of our most popular models because of it's awesome power and compact size. The X-Drive is Available in Left or Right Mounts and uses the same powerful permanent magnet motor as the E-Drive. Experimental/Homebuilt owners get the best weight savings with the X-Drive and it's small size makes for easy installations. X-Drive Starter Features:
|
The New M-Drive is the best lightweight starter designed specifically for Large-bore Continental Engines equipped with TCM starter adapters. The M-Drive Starter Will Not damage your TCM Starter Adapter - Read More With a proven 2.8kw high torque motor, the new M-Drive can start even the hardest cranking large bore TCM engines while safely disengaging from the starter adapter. M-Drive Starter Features:
|
E-Drive Starter Immune to Kick-Back Damage - Drive Assembly
There is no longer a need to replace overload devices (shear pins) after a kick-back event.
The
E-Drive is unaffected by kick-backs saving hours of service time and replacement costs. The engine and starter are both protected by a proprietary torque limiting clutch drive design.
- Drive assembly integrates proprietary pinion gear, clutch, torque limiter, and actuator in one complete module.
- Starter system designed for maximum performance.
- Universal unit which works with 12 or 24 volt systems.
- Available for coarse and fine pitch ring gears, standard and counter rotation models.
- No periodic service or recurring maintenance required.
M-Drive - A Starter That WILL NOT Damage Your TCM Starter
Adapter
The "TCM Starting System" consisting of both a starter motor and a TCM Starter
Adapter has been a very successful design for many years. Legacy (heavy,
direct drive) starter motors from Delco, and Kelly (Prestolite & Energizer)
have provided trouble-free service oftentimes through engine TBO. Recent
market demands have stressed higher performance, lighter weight, longer design
life, and lower current draw. Twenty-first century technology allows these
improvements in the starter motor... but, that is just one-half of the TCM
starting system. Powerful high strength permanent magnet, gear reduction
motors have been designed to satisfy these market demands, but one inherent
characteristic of all gear reduction motors is that they DO
NOT 'turn backward'.
With the TCM starter system a key operating characteristic is that once the engine starts, it is necessary for the starter motor shaft to 'turn backward' only slightly to release the wrap spring tension and disengage the starter motor from the TCM starter adapter. If the motor resists reverse movement, the wrap spring tension is maintained on the starter adapter drive shaft after the engine starts causing excessive wear of the spring & shaft, eventually resulting in slippage or catastrophic damage requiring removal and overhaul of the TCM starter adapter. Repair or replacement may cost several thousand dollars.
Having been the OE starter motor supplier for 25 years, Kelly was aware of these requirements and designed the M-Drive lightweight starter to perform as successfully as its larger predecessors. Reducing the reverse torque to near zero was accomplished by designing an in-line solenoid that electrically connects the starter motor to the starter adapter drive shaft. Consequently, when the ignition key is released at engine start the solenoid completely disengages, immediately releasing the wrap spring drive tension, thus allowing the starter adapter drive shaft to rotate freely without damage.
No other lightweight gear-reduction starter has this low back-torque feature which precludes damage to your TCM starter adapter by the starter motor. When you are looking for a new starter for your TCM engine, ask for the M-Drive from Kelly Aerosapce. It is available in 12 volt (MRZ-7000) and 24 volt (MRB-7000) models and is FAA certified and PMA approved.
E-Drive vs. Sky-tec 149-NL
Cranking Speed (rpm)
is the speed at which your starter rotates the engine's crankshaft during a start. You may think that a higher cranking speed would be better but this is not always the case. Your starter is part of the engine's starting system which also includes the fuel and ignition systems. These systems have been designed to provide good starting characteristics for a particular starting speed range. For most engines this speed is between 120 and 180 rpm. Cranking your engine faster than 200 rpm may disengage the magneto impulse couplings thereby advancing the ignition timing which will result in poor engine starting and can even induce kickbacks! A typical 6 cylinder Lycoming engine requires 50-60 ft*lbs of torque to start. For this load condition, consider the following comparison (see chart, point B for Edrive and point D for Sky-Tec).
- Sky-Tec - Spins the engine too fast
295/305 rpm at 50 ft*lbs of torque.
- E-Drive - Ideal cranking, well below limit
145/155 rpm at 50 ft*lbs of torque.
Current Draw
directly affects the amount of heat that builds up in your starter when cranking your engine. The more current your starter pulls, the more heat that is generated in the starter. Increased heat reduces cranking performance, shortens the overall life of your starter and drains your battery. The rate of temperature increase also decreases the duty cycle of the starter which means fewer starts before the starter reaches its temperature limit. Current draw also affects other components in the aircraft starter electrical system. Contactors, terminals, and cables are all adversely affected by high current draw. Current draw is particularly important to pilots who have the battery located in the rear of the aircraft. The cable between the battery and the starter acts as a resistor which causes a voltage drop over its length. As current increases so does this voltage drop. The resulting electrical power lost to heat over the length of the cable is not available for use by the starter. Higher current draw results in greater voltage drop and less power to the starter. For cranking a typical Lycoming 6-cylinder engine with a 24-volt system and assuming a 50 ft*lb torque load the following comparison should be considered (see chart).
- Sky-Tec - Pulls about 2-1/2 times as much current, shortening starter life
165/175 amps
- E-Drive - More than double the number of starts and duty cycle of Sky-Tec!
60/70 amps
Current Draw also determines the number of starts you can get from your battery. For a given charge condition, your battery is capable of delivering a given number of starts and that number is directly related to the amount of current your starter draws while cranking. A starter drawing twice the current will only give you half the number of starts before battery depletion.
Duty Cycle
is important as it reflects how well the starter can tolerate repeated starting attempts and over-cranking abuse. Warranty data from starter manufacturers indicates that the principle cause of in-service starter motor failures is over-cranking abuse. A starter with a duty cycle twice that of another will be able to deliver twice the number of starts within a given window of time without overheating. This is an important performance indicator when considering a starter as it will have a direct impact on starter longevity. The operational limitations for the E-Drive are 10-seconds of engagement time followed by 20-seconds of rest for 20 consecutive starts! No other starter can match that kind of performance.
The Kelly Aerospace starters have undergone rigorous durability & laboratory tests including operating at temperatures ranging from -45 to 180°F shock tests, sinusoidal vibration sweeps, load cycling, normal starting, abusive starting, starting with induced kick-backs, and other environmental/operational extremes. The new starter lines from Kelly Aerospace are capable of providing maintenance free service to your engine's TBO... and beyond.