Avionics News November 2013 - 32

TRUE BLUE POWER

Electronics: Integral ARINC 429 output for cockpit
displays and diagnostic systems.

them the Beechcraft's 90-, 200- and 300-series King Airs,
the Beech 1900 and Premier, and Cessna's 501, 525A and
B Citation models.
As a direct replacement for legacy lead-acid L-3 PS835s, True Blue Power's TS835 employs the same mounting rack, wire harness and flight deck "arm/off/test"
switch as the older battery.
The new technology shows its advantages in a battery
design weighing 4.8 pounds - more than 60 percent lighter (8-plus pounds) than competing products using other
chemistries.
Maintenance intervals for the TS835 double to every
two years compared to the legacy lead-acid design, which
require annual capacity checks. Similarly, the TS835 provides more than triple the life expectancy: 10 years compared to the three-year replacement schedule typical of
lead-acid standby batteries.
Even as this work progressed, Mid-Continent's new
True Blue Power division was hard at work on expanding
the application of the A123 cells.

TB17:
Capacity - 17Ah; 600A continuous, 850A peak.
Weight - 16 pounds, versus 29.5 pounds for existing
lead-acid and NiCad alternatives.

Continued from page 23

Doubling Down on Success:
True Blue Power's New Main-ship Batteries
The new TB17 and TB44 share all the best traits and
benefits of the TS835's battery chemistry and design, but
specifically designed as a main-ship battery.
Consider these common traits:
* Voltage output: 26.4 VDC (volts of direct current).
* Internal heaters to enable full-rated performance
between minus 40 degrees Celsius (minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit) and 70 degrees Celsius (158 degrees Fahrenheit).
* Cell-voltage balancing.
* Built-in protection against overtemperature conditions, undertemperature conditions, overcurrent,
overcharge, overdischarge and short-circuits.
* Extended product life and longer maintenance
intervals.
* Certifications pursued - FAA TSO C179a; ETSO
C179a; RTCA DO-311 and RTCA DO-160G.
* Higher power density and lighter weight.
The "lighter weight" alone will be significant enough
to attract some OEMs and spur aftermarket interest. Consider these individual specifications:
TB44:
Capacity - 44 Ah; 750A continuous, 1,500A peak.
Weight - 53 pounds, versus 80 pounds to 90 pounds
for existing lead-acid and NiCad alternatives.
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2013

Availability: Coming Soon...
During the fourth quarter of 2013, True Blue Power's
new, unique and distinct Nanophosphate lithium-ion batteries are expected to begin showing up at customers'
production lines.
While the company wasn't naming names, the expectation is that these two new batteries have already found
takers in the aircraft-production world and await only the
official approvals and certifications before announcing
the early adopters.
According to an insider at one major airframe manufacturer, his company sees much to gain and little downside to embracing the new True Blue Power options.
"True Blue Power recognized our concerns and came
in prepared with documentation showing how the batteries' designs and chemistry preclude the sorts of issues
that have made many companies a bit gun shy about using lithium-ion batteries in aircraft," the executive confidentially confided.
"Nobody wants to face the kind of public concerns
we heard after the Dreamliner incidents - but everybody
wants to offer the best technology with the best lifecycle costs and power density, something we've grown
used to in our smartphones and tablets and cameras.
"True Blue Power seems to have hit on the answer;
next is a matter of certifications and preparing to answer
the flying public when they express their safety concerns."
A number of individual aircraft owners polled about
a theoretical battery replacement also embraced the
concepts and traits True Blue Power designed into the
TB17 and TB44, with one quipping: "As if that kind of
battery existed ... call me when it does, and I'll have my
checkbook waiting ... but I won't turn blue holding my
breath."
Well, pilot/owner, here's your call - and the company
took care of the turning blue part for you. q

Editor's Note: In future issues, Avionics News will provide
more in-depth reports on the topic of lithium batteries and
specifically what True Blue Power is doing to help educate
the industry on this subject.

Avionics News November 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News November 2013