Page 30 - Mar17ABS

Off to a Good Start
While understanding a starter’s “duty cycle” is critical to any piston aircraft pilot, it’s twice as important when you’re cranking up a twin.
by Dale Smith
Occasionally you just have one of those days: You’re late getting away from your office. Traffic is a mess. It takes forever to file your flight plan. And to top it all off, your starboard engine just refuses to catch. You crank, and crank, and crank...all while muttering under your breath about
beating that @#$&!! starter to death.
Honestly, a quick beat-down is a much more humane way to kill your starter than the slow and
painful demise you are currently subjecting it to.
The unfortunate fact is, the vast majority of piston aircraft pilots don’t really understand the significant damage we inflict on our starters through improper operations. No wonder so many of us have chronic problems with our starter’s performance and reliability. And when you’re flying a twin, you’ve just doubled your potential troubles.
So, what’s a pilot to do? To get the scoop on proper operations I went directly to the source of all things starter related: Hartzell Engine Technologies, makers of the Hartzell and Sky-Tec brands of aircraft starters.
According to the company’s Director of Product Support, Tim Gauntt, the main cause of most starter problems is most owners don’t know how the system works, nor the stresses the starter experiences when you twist the switch.
“One area that the majority of pilots I talk to have little understanding is the importance of knowing and adhering their aircraft’s starter duty cycle,” he said. “Following the duty cycle guidelines will go a long way toward maximizing your starter’s operational life.”
What is a Duty Cycle and Why is It So Important?
Gauntt explained that the starter’s duty cycle determines how well the starter can tolerate repeated starting attempts. And it includes a specified starter ‘cool down’ interval between each unsuccessful start.
28 • TWIN & TURBINE
March 2017