CHUGIAK, Alaska — Airframes Alaska has purchased Performance STOL, designers of the double-slotted “Keller” flap system for certified PA-18s and experimental Cub-type bush planes.
Performance STOL flaps lower takeoff and landing speeds by 4 to 5 miles per hour without increasing a plane’s angle of attack in slow flight, according to company officials.
“We’ve watched the development of these flaps for a few years now,” says Heather Montgomery, Airframes Alaska CEO. “The double-slotted flap system is the most effective short takeoff and landing modification for aircraft operating in the backcountry. This makes Performance STOL flaps a perfect fit for what we do at Airframes.”
Doug Keller, a professional engineer and ATP-licensed pilot, co-invented Performance STOL flaps with Alec Wild. What began in 2010 as a flap concept for Wild’s Double Ender project gradually transformed into a double-slotted fowler flap design with broader appeal.
“The performance was so good that we thought it had market potential for experimental Cubs,” Keller says. “After selling over 100 sets to experimental Cub owners, we started the FAA certification process for the PA-18.”
The FAA issued the PA-18 Performance STOL STC in early 2017.
The Performance STOL double-slotted flap line now includes:
- STC’d two-hanger flaps for certified PA-18s;
- Custom two-, three-, and four-hanger flaps for Backcountry Super Cubs, Javron Cubs, and other experimental Cub-style aircraft.
“The FAA has already transferred the STC and added it to our PMA,” Montgomery says. “We’re on track to put Performance STOL flaps into production in late August.” While Airframes Alaska works to fill existing orders, new customers can expect a six-week lead time for experimental flaps and a four-month lead time for certified flaps.
Airframes Alaska is an aviation fabrication and FAA/PMA certified parts manufacturer of tailwheels, landing gear, lift struts, wheels and brakes, PA-18 fuselages, and more parts that support bush flying around the world.
This purchase is Airframes Alaska’s second acquisition of an Oregon-based aircraft parts business: In 2014 the company bought Alaskan Bushwheels and moved all production to Alaska.