True Blue Power, a subsidiary of Mid-Continent Instruments and Avionics, has announced FAA approval of a supplemental type certificate (STC) for its Gen5 TB50 lithium-ion main ship batteries for the Gulfstream IV, G450, V, and G550 jets.
The STC was developed by 101 Aviation in partnership with Aloft AeroArchitects, and according to Van Winter, Mid-Continent’s s-v-p of sales and marketing, it encompasses approximately 1,200 airframes, half of which are the G550. While True Blue produces Li-ion batteries for aircraft down to the Cessna 172, it moves into a higher weight class with the G550 battery STC.
Weighing just 44.3 pounds per battery, the True Blue TB50 is approximately half the weight of conventional lead-acid and nickel-cadmium batteries and is a near plug-and-play replacement.
“One of the biggest reasons this is an upgrade for people who are flying the Gulfstream-sized aircraft is the maintenance is on condition, so there's no capacity checks,” Winter told AIN. “The idea is, you put this in your Gulfstream, you don’t touch it for eight years until it's ready to be replaced.”
The battery installation, which can be accomplished in less than a day, includes a cockpit annunciator that details the health and condition of the battery. It also includes a low-voltage internal heater to ensure operational readiness. “The heater and the battery management system, which is what allows us to manage all the lithium technology, is all in the box,” said Winter. The price for the batteries and installation is approximately $80,000.
“These products have been flying for over 13 million flight hours, and so we’ve had really good success,” explained Winter. “No incidents with the technology, but that’s the goal; these people don’t have to worry if they’re going to have a battery issue when the primary owner of the aircraft is ready to go fly to wherever.”
The True Blue battery is also now factory-standard equipment on the Cessna Longitude.
In terms of safety, the True Blue battery is completely self-contained, and part of the STC kit is a vent tube that goes to the outboard on the aircraft. “Our batteries are completely self-contained,” added Winter. “We’ve never had an on-aircraft thermal runaway, so after millions and millions of flight hours, everything is contained in the enclosure. If something happens, this battery will not catch fire. It will not smoke; it will vent electrolyte vapor outside the aircraft.
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