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Starter for a 85-8

Doug Budd

Doug Budd

MEMBER
Crawford Nebraska
I have a buddy that has a 85hp t- craft he is getting some age on him and he is looking at a STC for a starter for a 85-8 . Have any of you had any experience with this STC?


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For a -8? The dewalt powered setup is all I know about?


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Time to find a dash12 - we installed two B&C starters in J-3s and are deliriously happy with them. Getting over 70 starts per battery charge. Any other solution would involve a field approval and some real complications, in my opinion.
 
bob turner said:
Time to find a dash12 - we installed two B&C starters in J-3s and are deliriously happy with them. Getting over 70 starts per battery charge. Any other solution would involve a field approval and some real complications, in my opinion.
Click to expand...

Odyssey battery...? Or something else...?
 
This STC puts a fly ring behind the prop and runs a rod from the ring through the firewall and you use a cordless drill . There is not enough room between the engine and firewall for a -12 on a t-craft. So he would have to change motor mounts and cowling. Then the cg is going to be to far forward


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I installed the DeWalt drill STC on a T Cart. Not a great setup but it did work. The cable actuator was a disaster. I made a rod to actuate the drill. I will see if I have pictures. I wouldn't like to install another one. A major pain to make work.
 
Steve, cable aside, was that due to the room available on the T-Cart, or the overall setup of the stc design?


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The whole thing is pretty Mickey Mouse in my opinion. An aluminum box is fastened to the firewall and the drill goes in. It is engineered for every airplane which creates challenges on each installation having room to mount and getting the linkage at the right angle. The flywheel is butt ugly as is the big hole you have to put in your nosebowl.
 
I collected a bunch of photos from all over of the setup after seeing a champ with it. Ring gear is defiantly not attractive, but I thought it would be an option for someone that shouldn't hand prop anymore.
Maybe the idea needs some adapting for individual installs.

Here's a couple champ pics for those that haven't seen it.

7e26d50dd034c60f16c10f168929c94e.jpg


7298092116cadf7bab21db3d37a40acd.jpg


a78a0f74922f9d8ce49aca9d3636031d.jpg



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Last edited:
I know a guy who put one of those Dewalt starter lash-ups on a Luscombe.
No offense to the designer but IMHO it was a piece of crap.....and a waste of a good cordless drill.

The Continental 4-bangers seem to prop pretty easy as long as the mags are in good shape and properly timed to the engine.
I'd be more inclined to rig something like a tow hook for "tie-down for start, then taxi away" use,
than one of those Dewalt starter set-ups.
 
Doug Budd said:
I have a buddy that has a 85hp t- craft he is getting some age on him and he is looking at a STC for a starter for a 85-8 .
Click to expand...

hotrod180 said:
The Continental 4-bangers seem to prop pretty easy as long as the mags are in good shape and properly timed to the engine.
I'd be more inclined to rig something like a tow hook for "tie-down for start, then taxi away" use,.
Click to expand...
Hotrod, your comment is valid except that Doug's friend is getting on in age and doesn't wish to hand start any more.
 
Friend locally with Taylorcraft has had a DeWalt starter on a C85-12...didn't work well and then he started having problems with the tapered crank prop hub adapters cracking. Maybe imbalance or whatever in the stacking tolerances. He went to a short B&C starter and battery but no alternator so far. Just charges the battery with a jump from his truck before flight. Whatever mags he has fit the short mount as well.

What it would take to convert a -8 to a starter has been discussed here and elsewhere. Not a lunch hour job.

Gary
 
A lot of Cub folks are "into" the dash 8. Don Swords even got approval to convert perfectly good dash 12s into dash 8s. Find one of those, and trade "up".

I am 76, and still quite capable of hand starts. I did two today. But I foresee the day when climbing in to a running Cub could present risks. And my partner, who is barely into his 60s, is having back trouble. So we sort of got ahead of the curve, and did both Cubs last winter.

The B&C fits, but no room to spare. The Bendix S-4 mags fit, but those little nuts that hold the wires in the back of the mags need to be shortened. One can use modern swaged spark plug wire and get more room.

The B&C factory is easy to work with. Still locally owned, as opposed to Skytec. And the product seems bulletproof.

We are using the Odyssey PC-545, a smaller 12 AH battery. It is clear that even that is overkill - if we could find a 7 AH with robust terminals, that would be the ticket.

Good luck - we know where your buddy is coming from.
 
Lol mine too! He's an old rancher flys to check cows every day , started a spraying business in the 60s with the champ he still flys today, was a bush pilot in Canada in the 70s


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cubdriver2 said:
If you acted like an old man it would be you. But truth is I have trouble keeping up with you so game on fool. I think I can still kick your butt arm wrestling.

Glenn
Click to expand...

"I'll take that bet you're gonna regret"
 
Steve Pierce said:
The whole thing is pretty Mickey Mouse in my opinion. An aluminum box is fastened to the firewall and the drill goes in. It is engineered for every airplane which creates challenges on each installation having room to mount and getting the linkage at the right angle. The flywheel is butt ugly as is the big hole you have to put in your nosebowl.
Click to expand...

My IA installed one on a J-3 ground up resto he and his brother did that had a fuel injected C85 and tow hook done on a Field Approval (a story unto itself.) He ended up pulling the whole works off when they fitting the cowl, same reason you mentioned Steve. He had quite a time fiddling with the injection to get it working but it is all good now. I did get to help him run it one day.
7058224fb47394f05dfe7a0652c85ab7.jpg

Probably the first and last time my fat arse will be in the front seat of a J-3!
 
Aeronca Chiefs had an optional McDowell Safety Starter. Flywheel with ratcheting mechanism, cable, handle in cockpit. Never actually used one. One in the classified at Aeronca.org. Google for pics.
 
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