Starter on a A-65 Continental

 

 

 

 

Your looking for a -9 rear case, part number A6234. You’ll also need gears and a couple different parts.

Here are some of the parts that are different and needed for the -9

Tach housing
Oil Screen Housing
Crank shaft gear
Mag Gears (2)
Starter Gear
Retainer

Trying to find this whole set up is like finding hens teeth. But don’t get discouraged, it can get done with time. If your serious, pick up the manual for an A65, if gives all the part numbers needed.

 

 

https://www.supercub.org/forum/threads/cordless-drill-starter-for-a65-continental.34410/

 

some starter discourse

http://www.bowersflybaby.com/tech/fenton.html

Factory Starters on A65s

I saw an ad that has gotten my attention…”CONTINENTAL A-65-9 + STARTER  – RARE!”  I have a  1948 Taylorcraft BC-12D which currently is powered with an A-65-8.  It is fairly high time, 1450 hrs smoh, and so I figure I will need to make a decision on the engine within two or three hundred hours.  70/71/72/68/80.  I have read on your wonderful web sight that the A-65-8 is not an easy conversion to the A-65-9 with starter.  But, since the engine below is already to go, how difficult would it be to take out the A-65-8 and replace it with the once advertised below.  I am not a mechanic, and I will not be doing the work on it, but I do like the idea of a starter, even without a generator if it can be accomplished with a reasonable amount of labor.

The -9 engine is identical to the -8, except that the accessory case is configured to accept a starter, but does not have any mounting pad for a generator/alternator.  The stock starter is big and heavy- 18lbs just for the starter, plus 21 lbs for an aircraft quality battery, plus another 5 lbs for cables, battery box, and switches.  So, there is an immediate nearly 45 lbs added to the airframe to include a starter.  The weight may be cut in half by using newer, alternate lightweight components, but none of these parts are approved to the airframe or engine and would require a trip into the netherworld of FAA field approval.

The fun doesn’t stop there- as it turns out, the Taylorcraft will require a firewall modification because the engine sits so close to the firewall on that plane.  Here is a link to a guy who has been through the conversion (however with FAA experimental approval):  http://www.flightsmith.com/tcraft/index.htm

So- the -9 engine can be made to work, but it is not a bolt-on installation.  Lots of work and FAA approvals, even for experimental certification, need to be accomplished.  Not impossible, but lots of work, frustration and patience will be required.  Arguably, it would be easier to convert you’re A-65 T-Craft to a C-85 because there is an STC for this modification (however the cost may be higher due to required airframe changes).

The biggest negative I see with adding a starter is the cumulative weight gain of all of the components required for the installation.  Adding a starter/alternator/battery is an immediate 40-60 lbs of useful load reduction.  That equates to nearly a full tank of gas in a T-Craft!

I’m probably coming off as a bit negative, but I’m really addressing this from a realistic point of view.  Adding a starter to an A-65 is simply not easy, so the low cost and low maintenance of a handpropped engine has its benefits.


 

Starter Replacement for an A-65-9

I have one on an Aeronca 11CA that was overhauled in 2000 by Gann Aviation Lafayette GA. It has a total of Four Hours since rebuild, Why? you ask.  Well I can’t find a Starter.  I took the back plate off and looked inside and it has a Bendix type Engagement rather than Gears.

We put Two New Slick Mag’s, but they do no make one with Impulse Couplings.

What do I do now? Any suggestions of where I might find an Eclipse Starter that fits the -9?

I have only seen a couple of these starters and I have never really looked at the details of the installation.  They are really heavy though, maybe 8- 12 lbs or so.  If you do find one, I would think that it would be relatively easy to fix.  You might want to contact Sky Tec starters at SkyTecAir.com and see if they could match up a starter to the -9.  They will probably say that they don’t make anything, but maybe if you send some pictures and dimensions they can match up something.  Other than that, start scrounging Trade-A-Plane and all of the Cub, Aeronca, Mooney Mite sites to see if a starter can be found- I’m sure that someone has one scrounged away.   No easy answer for how to find a starter.

Because the -9 accessory case has a different accessory case than all other Continentals, the depth of engagement of the magnetos is also different. The big problem is that there is no magneto drive gear combination for the impulse Slick magneto which gives the correct depth of engagement.  The 4302 is the only Slick magneto approved for this engine.  I worked for Slick for 20 years, so if there was a solution, I would have found one.

One roundabout way to solve the problem is to convert the -9 to a -8.  You lose the starter, but you gain the ability to install impulse mags, which significantly improves the hand propping performance.

Harry

 

Here is an experimental front starter ring;