By Brent Bundy | March 25, 2024 Estimated reading time 3 minutes, 51 seconds.
True Blue Power, the electrical power division of Mid-Continent Instruments, announced two new products during the 2024 Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA) International Convention and Trade Show.
The first is the latest addition to the Gen5 family of batteries, the TB50.
Skies sat down with director of aftermarket sales and support Van Winter to discuss the latest offerings.
“This is a 50-amp hour advanced lithium-ion battery designed to start aircraft engines. The unique thing about the TB50 is that we designed it to be a same-size replacement for legacy lead-acid and NiCad batteries,” said Winter.
“It’s not plug-and-play, since there are certification pieces that come with lithium, but we wanted to put it in that compact, square form factor so that it would be a same-size replacement.”
This design decision has allowed the TB50 to currently fit in over 126 different airplane and helicopter models.
With a list price of $25,151, Winter concedes this is higher than competitor offerings, but he points out the advantages of Li-ion.
“The value proposition behind this battery is a life span of eight to 10 years with faster, cooler, cleaner starts, which means it’s going to protect your engine, which should extend the time between overhauls, which also protects and elongates the lifetime of various components.”
Additional features of the TB50 include a weight of 43.9 pounds, which is up to 50 percent less than competitors; maintenance-free, real-time monitoring of state-of-charge (SOC) and state-of-health (SOH); an on-board status indicator, and significantly reduced carbon emissions. Availability is expected by late summer or early fall 2024.
The second new product is the TS28 emergency battery power supply (EBPS). This 1.7-pound NiMH battery is configured as a direct drop-in replacement for the Radiant CBS28-1 in numerous Cessna Citation aircraft, including Latitude and Longitude models.
“We are hearing from customers that are replacing these every six to 12 months. The TS28 should last four to six years with capacity checks at two-year intervals,” Winter stated. “This has much more power and is more energy-dense. This means you’re not gaining any weight but you’re getting almost double the power.”
Additionally, the internal battery of the TS28 is user-replaceable in the field, negating repurchasing the entire enclosure. Priced at $4,500, the TS28 is currently available from True Blue Power.
Information on both new items can be found at www.truebluepowerusa.com.
