Safestart Starter System

[dewhitaker]

I just thought I would start a thread concerning this STC for a starter system for the A-65 engines. First learned about it in the current issue of The Taylorcraft News. Looks like a pretty interesting idea.

Harold Hamp is the inventor. STC# SA02604CH

Hamp Aircraft Service
7350 Osborn RD
Elwell, MI 48832
989.463.1762 Fax 989.466.5114

Main components are a cordless right angle drill motor, drive gears, flex plate, bearing block.

Disclaimer: I have no connection with this gentleman or project. Only passing this on to the tribe for information and or discussion.

[Dan Michaels]

Re: Safestart Starter System

There is a gentleman in Anoka that thas a starter mounted on a 65 with a ring gear. Mounts the starter on rear top and has a long shaft to the bendix that engages the ringear in front. Looks very stock and does not have a drill motor. It is on a Cub look a like.

Dan

[t-crafter]

Re: Safestart Starter System

It looks like this stc only applies to the A65, I did not see any C85 mentioned in the stc. There is a slight size difference between the two.

[gnflyn]

Re: Safestart Starter System

Is there a link to information on this system/stc???

[Dan Michaels]

Re: Safestart Starter System

I googled the stc# and came up with another forum with pictures of the system. It looks similar to the one that I saw with the real starter.

I will say after seeing it I would put the shaft right through the firewall or have a coupler there. Then just have a drill in the cabin hook it in push and pull the trigger. All that is hooked to the plane is the shaft and drive gears.

Dan

[bashibazouk]

Re: Safestart Starter System

Is there a link to information on this system/stc???

The full STC is HERE

Couldn't find any pictures online and the one in the Taylorcraft News isn't great.
Neat idea, but I just got used to propping my ship! Might be nice to have for those in-flight stoppages, though...

[Dan Michaels]

Re: Safestart Starter System

http://www.joea.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2791&view=previous

Dan

[Ragwing nut]

Re: Safestart Starter System

I wouldn't have that conglomeration of crap on my airplane. The fact that is has an STC is even worse.

[Dan Michaels]

Re: Safestart Starter System

I wouldn't have that conglomeration of crap on my airplane. The fact that is has an STC is even worse.

You forgot; or or

Dan

[crispy critter]

Re: Safestart Starter System

Holy S*#t......that almost looks dangerous! Maybe it works better then it looks but I don't care much for it. Why can't they rig up a Johnson stick or something like on some of the old Champ/Chief's. I know the Johnny stick(as we call it) is not the most trouble free unit but if you know how to use it properly it works great and will last forever.

[VictorBravo]

Re: Safestart Starter System

That's pretty awful looking.

There is another option in my opinion, that makes a lot more sense than that drill motor hodgepodge. If the FAA gave a green light to a plastic Home Depot drill mounted in the engine compartment, then they should certainly consider this:

A friend of mine designs, manufactures and actually tests an electronic ignition unit to replace a magneto. Klaus Savier, Light Speed Engineering of Santa Paula, CA, has won the CAFE races and many other efficiency races. Klaus has adapted the technology from automotive high energy spark systems, and engineered the best ignition system for an aircraft. This is a solid state system that adds several benefits. Better available power from the same amount of fuel, real-time optimized timing for all flight phases, less stress on the engine at times, much much better fuel economy at cruise speeds, etc. etc. Yes, it even cures the common cold.

One of the benefits is that it retards the ignition spark way way way back for starting. So you can SLOWLY pull the prop through by hand, with no stress and NO DANGER, and the cylinder will fire right at or even after TDC.

This means that you can completely eliminate the problem that makes people afraid or unable to hand start the engine. That makes a lot more sense than hacking up an airplane or adding weight, to simply get around the problem another way (by overpowering the problem).

The LSE ignition system weighs less than the magneto it replaces. So you can have a small battery to supply the energy to run it and have a net weight change of zero. A small wind generator would also be able to power this unit as well.

A Field Approval or one-time STC, even with all the grief that the FAA might throw into the game, is still a reasonable alternative to a !($*% Harbor Freight drill IMHO.

Did I mention that this LSE ignition has thousands of hours of flight time and proper test data behind it?

[NY86]

Re: Safestart Starter System

Come on! It's a Rube Goldberg masterpiece!

Great conversation starter...

Q- is the screw driver bit in photo 3 part of the STC?

[Dan Michaels]

Re: Safestart Starter System

Holy S*#t......that almost looks dangerous! Maybe it works better then it looks but I don't care much for it. Why can't they rig up a Johnson stick or something like on some of the old Champ/Chief's. I know the Johnny stick(as we call it) is not the most trouble free unit but if you know how to use it properly it works great and will last forever.

What is a Johnson stick? Does it start the engine?

Dan

[paulnuss]

Re: Safestart Starter System

The "Johnny Stick" referred to is probably a term for the Johnson Bar, a long bar used to activate brakes and/or flaps in some neat antique airplanes. I seem to recollect old Stinsons and some others with them.

The McDowell Safety Starter was/is a manual starter sytem that was approved a long time ago, and used frequently in old Aeroncas of the '40's. I used to have a '46 Aeronca 11AC Chief with Continental A-65-8 and a McDowell Safety Starter, and my '46 Taylorcraft BC12-D1 had one too, though this was installed in the field. The McDowell starter unit used a cog behind the propellor, acted upon by a cable which was pulled from inside the cabin by swinging the bar. On my old Aeronca, it pivoted vertically, on the Taylorcraft it pivoted horizontally across the cabin just above my knees. The cable had to work through a 90 degrees change of direction, so mechanical advantage was low. It all worked when things were just right, e.g. engine primed and ready to start. An absolute requirement was a retarded spark, best done with a single magneto with impulse coupler selected on to start, to avoid kickback. It wasn't very heavy. The Taylorcraft required a modification to the nose bowl cowling and a special larger-diameter spinner to cover the works.

Actuation was somewhat similar to pulling the rope of a recoil start lawnmower. The cable reeled back in via springs after the pull. It was a guaranteed knuckle-buster in my Taylorcraft, and I didn't really have the knee room anyway, so I removed it all. I have sometimes wished I still had it, in light of today's realities of traveling to a different airport and finding a qualified prop man or qualified person at the controls as I prop.

[flybikefarm]

Re: Safestart Starter System

Here is a pic of one.