DAYTONA BEACH – Power Flow, a supplier of aircraft tuned exhaust systems, has shipped its 1,500th Skyhawk kit.
The Skyhawk systems represent about a third of the total number of kits Power Flow has shipped over the past 16 years of developing STCs and manufacturing them, according to company officials.
According to company officials, Skyhawks with a tuned exhaust upgrade for either a Lycoming O-320 or an O-360 respond with the following performance improvements:
- 30 to 130 rpm increase on static run-up;
- 4 to 6 second reduction in takeoff roll;
- 125 to 300 feet per minute (fpm) increase in climb rate;
- 1.2 to 2.2 gallon per hour (gph) reduction in fuel burn;
- Cylinder Head Temperature (CHT) extremes reduced between cylinders and overall temperatures reduced by 10O – 15O F;
- Exhaust Gas Temperature (EGT) extremes reduced between cylinders;
- Increase of 2,000 feet to 5,000 feet in the service ceiling; and a
- Smoother running engine.
The tuned exhaust allows the engine to run more efficiently by evacuating more of the exhaust gases from each cylinder, delivering virtually the full rated horsepower of the engine, Power Flow officials explain.