Launch Customer for True Blue System Announced

True Blue Power—the Kansas and California-based aerospace technology concern specializing in the design and manufacture of aircraft electrical power systems, USB and wireless chargers, power conversion products, emergency power supplies, and advanced lithium-ion batteries—announced on 01 May 2023 that the company’s Gen5 TB40 (forty amp-hour) Advanced Lithium-ion Main Ship Battery has been granted FAA Supplemental Type Certification (STC) for installation in Hawker/Beechjet 400 Series aircraft.

The ultra-lightweight TB40 reduces Hawker/Beechjet aircraft battery weight by up to sixty-pounds, increases useful load, facilitates faster turbine starts, and improves aircraft and electrical system performance. 

Wichita, Kansas-based Clemens Aviation—a full-service FBO, maintenance facility, and private aircraft management company—will imminently upgrade its fleet of Hawker/Beechjet 400s from lead acid to lithium-ion main ship batteries. In so doing, the company will earn the distinction of being the launch-customer for the newly-approved True Blue Power TB40 Lithium-ion Battery STC kit.

Clemens Aviation’s Alex Clemens stated: "The TB40 lithium battery is a game-changer for our fleet of 24 Beechjets. Between the cooler starts, weight savings, and increased dispatch reliability, we were sold on the TB40 immediately."

The new Hawker/Beechjet 400 Series Lithium-ion Battery STC kit includes: one TSO-certified Gen5 TB40 Advanced Lithium-ion Battery, one Mid-Continent Instruments and Avionics Flex Digital Battery Annunciation Control Unit (ACU), and requisite installation hardware and manuals. The FAA-certified upgrade allows owners and operators to retrofit their aircraft with the lightest, most powerful and reliable main ship battery on the market.

By replacing the lead-acid batteries in its Hawker/Beechjet 400s with new TB40 units, Clemens Aviation cuts the weight of each aircraft by sixty-pounds—a significant reduction which allows for increased useful-load. What’s more, lighter batteries are easier to install and remove from tight, hard-to-reach spaces. Anyone who’s endeavored to work in the hellhole of the HS-125—a true Hawker model—understands the value of a sixty-pound battery weight savings.

The TB40 lithium-ion battery recharges fully within thirty-minutes and features a built-in automatic heater for superior performance in temperatures as low as -40°C. In addition, the TB40’s proprietary Battery Management System (BMS) provides constant monitoring, protection, and capacity data.

The Flex Digital ACU included in the Hawker/Beechjet 400 Series Lithium-ion Battery STC kit displays the aircraft’s main battery status, state of charge, state of health, volts, amps, temperature, remaining life, and fault data directly to the pilot. True Blue’s Gen5 batteries are on-condition, require no capacity checks, and last eight-years.

In developing the Hawker/Beechjet 400 lithium-ion battery STC, True Blue Power partnered with Peregrine, an industry-leading certification resource.

Peregrine vice-president of business development and administration T.J. Spitzmiller set forth: “The certification of the True Blue Power lithium-ion batteries on the Hawker/Beechjet 400 has taken the collaboration between our companies to new heights. This STC demonstrates how True Blue Power’s lithium batteries continue to meet, and exceed, new FAA safety standards.”

FMI: www.truebluepowerusa.com