Innodyn news from Avweb
Released this morning on Avweb:
Turbine For The Masses Almost Ready (Still)
Innodyn Says Shipments Begin Next Month
A Pennsylvania company that says it can sell homebuilders a new turbine engine for about the same money as a certified piston engine of similar horsepower hopes to be fulfilling that elusive dream next month. This time, that means February (truth be told, we heard something very similar in August of '05 ... before that, in December of '04 ... and in April of '04, when the company operated as Affordable Turbine Power Co., Inc.). Charlie Sullivan, Innodyn's director of business development, this week told AVweb that the company is awaiting the arrival of a sophisticated dynamometer and a balancing machine to perform final tests on engines that are ready for shipment. What customers are waiting for are 188-pound turbines that put out 165 to 255 horsepower, with a TBO of 5,000 hours and price tag of between $26,500 and $34,500 (see AVweb's December "04 coverage for earlier details). Sullivan said he knows it sounds too good to be true to many people and that's why he's not anxious to make firm promises that the nature of groundbreaking technology can sometimes make difficult to keep. Sullivan won't say how many engines will go out next month, nor will he reveal how many are on order but he did say the order book will keep the company busy until next year. And while the first production engines aren't out the door yet, the company is already working on a more powerful successor. The twin turbine model (introduced in June '05) will put out up to 500 horsepower and Sullivan suggested (he wouldn't come right out and say it) that it will be a fraction of the price of entry-level turbines currently on the market.
Patient Customers Stand Behind Company
Although delivery dates have been pushed back (the company told AVweb a year ago that it hoped to be shipping within a month) at least one customer remains confident he'll (one day) have an Innodyn turbine pulling his RV-10. Dave Talley said the company called him last month to arrange delivery of his engine but he asked them to hang on to it since he doesn't even have the airframe kit, yet. Talley said the phone call indicates to him that the company is, indeed, finally ready to ship. "I think they're the real deal," he said. Even though the turbine will likely use more fuel, Innodyn says fuel burn is a lot better than most people expect, but, this time, gave no numbers (we've previously been told 7 gph per 100 hp) and said that the extra cost will be more than offset by the anticipated lower maintenance costs. Talley said he visited the Innodyn plant in Pennsylvania a year ago. He said he was impressed by the operation ("We were really impressed with everything we saw," he said) but he couldn't elaborate because Innodyn made him sign a non-disclosure agreement before allowing him to tour the plant. Talley said that beyond the technical challenges, which he said the company appears to have well in hand, insurance could become an issue.
__________________
Chad Jensen
Astronics AES, Vertical Power
RV-7, 5 yr build, flew it 68 hours, sold it, miss it.
|
Linear Mode
