Hartzell Engine Technologies made several announcements on April 14, at the Sun ‘n Fun Aerospace Expo, beginning with marking a milestone—the company shipped its 2,000th Sky-Tec starter adapter just nine months after receiving PMA on the part. Hartzell also plans an expansion to its facility in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and will continue to develop alternate uses for its legacy technology in military and UAV applications.
The Sky-Tec starter adapter—available through the company’s distribution network as well as factory-direct—is available for a wide range of Continental piston engines, and significantly reduces the wear and tear experienced during engine starting. “Aircraft owners don’t realize the significant strain that is put on their engine’s starter and starter adapter every time they start their engine,” said Keith Bagley, president of Hartzell Engine Technologies. “We put hundreds of hours of testing and evaluation into the development of these Sky-Tec starter adapters for Continental Aerospace engines. That testing proved that these new units will deliver the performance and reliability our customers demand.”
HET has also broken ground on a 13,000-sq-ft expansion to its facility in Tulsa. The Quality Aircraft Accessories space was acquired when Hartzell purchased the company 16 months ago. “This expansion will literally double our footprint and facilitate our ability to meet the increasing demand for Hartzell Engine Technologies products as the factory direct distributor for Sky-Tec, Plane-Power, Aeroforce, Fuelcraft, and Janitrol brands,” said Brett Benton, president, Quality Aircraft Accessories. “Furthermore, this investment is a vote of confidence in our people and general aviation as an industry here in Tulsa. Everyone here is extremely excited about what this means for today and our future.”
HET is working towards another kind of expansion as well—bringing its general aviation technology to potential military and UAV applications. “HET was recently awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the US Army to develop and demonstrate a new turbocharger for a 180-horsepower compression ignition engine,” Bagley said. “The goal is for the turbocharger to deliver reliable boost at altitudes up to 30,000 feet.”
“Another set of interesting applications we are currently working on is for our popular line of Plane-Power ALT-FLX alternators. The goal is to modify them for use on some unique UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) applications,” he said. “The ALT-FLX alternators are specifically designed to delivery very clean and reliable electrical energy, even under lower engine-power operations. These alternators provide best in class performance in a lightweight package.”
