Gone Flyin
Pre-takeoff checklist
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- Nov 30, 2020
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Gone Flyin
Had coffee with a buddy of mine, also a C150 owner. He has the L I have the M. On the way out to our cars I asked where he was off to. He took me over to his car, opened the trunk and showed me his plane's starter. Said it died and was taking it to an auto shop that repairs alternators. His A&P uses them. That's where he got the recommendation.
I was shocked. This was the same Delco piece of crap starter I had in my plane until a year or so ago. I say had because the one in my plane exploded upon shut down one afternoon. A clanking sound came from the engine compartment and everything came to a sudden halt. In trying to find out what happened I noticed my prop was locked. It would not move in any direction.
When I determined the issue was with the starter, I opened the side (there is a ring to access the brushes you slide back and off), this is what I found....
... and this is what fell out onto the ramp.
When I got it off and apart on the bench it was clear it was totally destroyed.
As my A&P and I examined it to try and found out what had happened, the issue became clear. The clutch mechanism that connects the starter to the large gear at the back of the engine is suppose to spin free after the motor starts running. At that point it is disengaged from the starter.
In mine, that did not happen. The clutch locked up internally so the starter motor was spinning along with the engine during flight. Eventually, it gave up and just ripped itself to pieces from the heat and high speed.
I was lucky. It did not lock up in flight but did so upon shut down.
I called several aviation repairers and not one would touch this starter. They all said they were a death trap and advised me to get a new Skytec. In the end, that's what I did. The new one is smaller, lighter, runs with way less current, so saves on battery drain, spins up faster, so my starts are quicker. It also is designed to re-track from the engine when it starts up so this issue can never happen.
Here it is on my C150.
My friend was not interested in what happened to my starter. He found someone who will fix his for $85 and $85 sounds a lot better than $900 for a new one, so he will takes his chances.
BTW: I asked an A&P friend of mine about this issue with the starter. I told him I could not find an AD for it even though the reputable aviation repairers all knew it was bad news.
"AD" he said, with a laugh.
"That stands for After Death. Apparently no one has died from one, yet"
So, for all you folks out there that are getting your Delco starters, made for the Ford Model T, repaired for $85 by the auto shop...
That AD slot is still open.
I was shocked. This was the same Delco piece of crap starter I had in my plane until a year or so ago. I say had because the one in my plane exploded upon shut down one afternoon. A clanking sound came from the engine compartment and everything came to a sudden halt. In trying to find out what happened I noticed my prop was locked. It would not move in any direction.
When I determined the issue was with the starter, I opened the side (there is a ring to access the brushes you slide back and off), this is what I found....
... and this is what fell out onto the ramp.
When I got it off and apart on the bench it was clear it was totally destroyed.
As my A&P and I examined it to try and found out what had happened, the issue became clear. The clutch mechanism that connects the starter to the large gear at the back of the engine is suppose to spin free after the motor starts running. At that point it is disengaged from the starter.
In mine, that did not happen. The clutch locked up internally so the starter motor was spinning along with the engine during flight. Eventually, it gave up and just ripped itself to pieces from the heat and high speed.
I was lucky. It did not lock up in flight but did so upon shut down.
I called several aviation repairers and not one would touch this starter. They all said they were a death trap and advised me to get a new Skytec. In the end, that's what I did. The new one is smaller, lighter, runs with way less current, so saves on battery drain, spins up faster, so my starts are quicker. It also is designed to re-track from the engine when it starts up so this issue can never happen.
Here it is on my C150.
My friend was not interested in what happened to my starter. He found someone who will fix his for $85 and $85 sounds a lot better than $900 for a new one, so he will takes his chances.
BTW: I asked an A&P friend of mine about this issue with the starter. I told him I could not find an AD for it even though the reputable aviation repairers all knew it was bad news.
"AD" he said, with a laugh.
"That stands for After Death. Apparently no one has died from one, yet"
So, for all you folks out there that are getting your Delco starters, made for the Ford Model T, repaired for $85 by the auto shop...
That AD slot is still open.
