The amount of down time depends on how much avionics need to be installed. This particular Courier went from round gauges to dual-glass Garmin G3Xs - so quite a bit of time was invested there. Also, this particular Courier was an 1st R&D example, so down-time on subsequent aircraft will be substantially less at least for the Firewall Forward work. Please call Ken Meines @ TMCX 509-432-1442 to have a serious discussion about making this a reality.

Please contact Ken Meines @ TMCX 509-432-1442 - turbinemotorconversions.com/

That all depends on the specific turbine engine, prop and other specific changes to the aircraft. For example, this aircraft was upgraded to dual Garmin G3Xs and interior improvements. Some operators might keep it as basic as possible. For specific scenarios with engine availability, you would want to contact Ken Meines @ TMCX 509-432-1442. That said, someone out there commented that this was a $1M aircraft now, but the reality is that total costs were far less.

Yep - as soon as it's tuned and tweaked for maximum performance, I'm sure it will find its way to a STOL competition.

How did you find that out without watching 😅

TMCX and we here at CAC are currently keeping this project Experimental (for the upcoming Helio Alaska kits) or Experimental Exhibition (for conversion of existing standard category Couriers.) A certified STC allowing these Helio Couriers to retain their standard classification and Part 135 operations is possible but would definitely drive up costs. Likely the PT6A-20 turbine would need to upgrade to a -21, -27 or -28 and there would be substantial cost and time to wade through the current FAA STC process requirements. However, if a group of H-295 Courier owners (or other models) were to get together to pool STC development costs, then a certified solution is entirely possible.

Thank you! This was conservative initial performance testing - dialed-in takeoffs could be far less.

@@cascadeaircraftconversions you’ve created a huge market for yourselves! Where are you located?

@@samueljohnclark We are located where you see this testing video - on the beautiful Palouse hills of Eastern Washington State. We are near Garfield, WA which is about 55 miles S - SE of Spokane, WA. Cascade Aircraft Conversions, LLC made its start servicing agricultural aircraft operators with performance upgrades and engine conversions. We have since teamed up with TMCX, LLC for turbine conversions in the experimental market along with the ability to produce aircraft PMA parts, engineering and testing services along with non-aircraft related parts manufacturing.

TMCX will definitely putting all the specs together when testing is complete.

Couriers are very cool indeed and some of their design characteristics have found their way into other aircraft designs. The turbine conversion of the Courier creates a whole "new" version of this capable aircraft. We and TMCX are keeping our options open to consider new alternative powerplant options as well.

Too true - the Stallion can haul a lot more a lot faster - being a larger, higher-gross aircraft. However, this Courier will be able to maneuver down to something like 32mph - it just depends on what capabilities you are looking for. This Courier conversion intends to become the Helio Courier STOL go to setup.

@@cascadeaircraftconversions I'm originally from LA (lower Alabama), and had a bunch of skydives from Mike Mullin's Helio Stallion N5779N, before it was crashed in Mobile on September 29, 1990. Matter of fact, I was in the towing business at the time, and helped Mike get the wreckage stashed away in just a few hours.

Yep - we will start an H-700 version this Fall.

Right Stefan, but turbine reliability is worth every dollar.

@@richardbieber9323 Yep - the price of a turbine if you can afford it - priceless (just like those old Visa card commercials.)

You make a great point, and this route is not for everyone. However for owners with the extra $$ who want to enjoy maximum performance and reliability - especially in the challenging density altitudes that these aircraft will likely fly, the cost you mentioned hits an acceptable sweet spot.

Thanks! Hoping to post flying video next week depending on the admin side of things.

Similar - yes. It's the same or very similar turbine case size. However, the PT6A-20 that is going into this Helio Courier is rated at 550 SHP at the prop whereas the Stallion uses a750 SHP PT6A-34. The Stallion is rated at almost 50% more gross weight, so the extra power makes sense. We have greatly simplified the firewall-forward installation of the turbine on the Courier compared to the quite complex installation on the Stallion for easier maintenance, less weight, etc.

YES! We are currently nearly complete with converting a Helio Courier H-800 model see kzbin.info/www/bejne/raK1d6iod6h-b5Ysi=X_qIc2O3_15VIff1 and we and TMCX will next work on an H-700 model starting Sep-Oct. As soon as we get our hands on an H-295, we will complete one of those and will likely complete several of the new Helio Alaska kits coming out in 2025. For serious inquiries, call Ken Meines @ TMCX 509-432-1442

@@cascadeaircraftconversionsthat’s great!

Thank you for the question. We would have to tend toward 'No' since it's experimental and not suitable for hire. Since there was a required FAA approval process because of the turbine itself, we would tend to think the issue would have come up during that time. It will be good to dig a little deeper, however.

For sure - we've heard that the PT6A-20 has been considered one of the most long-term reliable engines in aviation history.

@@cascadeaircraftconversions I’ve got at least 4500 hours flying PT 6’s and never had one issue with them. Secondary ignighters failed to fire on one very cold morning one time on a Caravan. Mechanic told me to open the left side cowing and tap 3 times on the ignition box mounted on the engine with my 3 D cell flash light and they fired first time during the next start. Other than that no issues ever with that engine.

@@jpdunamislodge Your experience speaks volumes about the value of PT6A turbine "insurance" against avoiding emergency situations - all while providing incredible upgrades in performance for these conversion projects.

@@cascadeaircraftconversions 2500 C208, 800 hrs of BE90, and 1200 BE350 time with no issues. “Insurance” is a 💯 correct assumption. Regular compressor washes, prop balancing, no hot starts, over temp/over torque are key to these engines running forever. I highly recommend the auto parameters / trend recording engine management system to make sure that there is nothing that has been exceeded. Even more “insurance”.

It's true! It's wild to be inside and watch/hear that "clunk" and like you said, seemingly random with each independent slat position not affecting the felt flight characteristics.

The #TMCX Turbine Conversion of the Murphy Moose is truly fantastic. Stay tuned for the Helio Courier conversion and even more exciting bush plane conversions.

That's a great question. Yes, taking over 200# off of the front end does/will affect the CG if nothing else changes. The turbine does get that average weight out front a bit further than the IO-720 it replaces, so that helps a bit. The biggest impact on keeping the CG is the large Hartzell 3-blade prop out front - the heavier prop/hub puts the counter-balancing weight out as far as possible to help with the CG. These items alone keep the aircraft within reasonable CG and we will likely eventually perform some other tweaks (e.g. moving battery(s) forward) to better optimize the CG. We will soon start work on a Helio Courier H-700 and eventually an H-295 which may require a slight adjustment in strategy. For now, it appears that #TMCX Helio Courier conversions will only be offered with a durable, heavier aluminum prop up front.

@@cascadeaircraftconversions Thanks, I had assumed the new engine was heavier, plus moved further aft.

@@marcinna8553 Although it is the opposite challenge for the Helio Couriers, a lot of bush planes we will work on will be challenged with the long turbine pushing weight too far forward. For the #TurbineMoose Murphy Moose conversion, swinging a "heavy" Avia 3-blade aluminum prop way out front with that long PT6A-20 turbine set up an aft cargo/passenger requirement (or water in the float rear compartment) even though no extra weight was added after replacing the M-14 9-cylinder radial with a "tiny" 2-blade prop. For that aircraft, switching to an MT 4-blade composite prop and deleting 40# plus from the nose of the T-Moose dramatically improved the CG equation.

@@cascadeaircraftconversions Thanks

Although we have not seen the exact details and specifics, I believe you are generally correct except I believe the certification challenge actually started with the original Helio Courier itself. The term C-STOL comes to mind with all of these type of aircraft being rated to a minimum controllable airspeed versus an actual stall speed.

Thanks for the comment. Keep watching for a lot more to come!

Agreed and many more like it in the works - if you haven't already, check out other videos on the channel featuring the T-Moose on and off of the water.

Like to another one on amphibs

@@parqld After flight testing (coming soon) on the nearly completed #TurbineMoose Turbine Conversion of a Helio Courier H-800, that aircraft will be put on amphibs and we will release plenty of video of that water operator.

One good place to start is www.helioak.com/history - the Helio Alaska company intends to reproduce experimental versions of these aircraft starting in 2025. There is more info at Wiki. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helio_Courier

It really is - be sure to check out the operation-off-of-water videos of this #TMCX Turbine Murphy Moose float plane in the play list.

Usually on these the idea is to get exhaust as far from the fuselage as possible to allow for clean-air window venting or keeping exhaust out of other cabin areas while on ground or in air. I'm guessing the drag penalty is minimal in the scheme of the entire airframe. There may be other considerations we can only guess at.

That's the idea with this conversion - give a regular Courier nearly the power/thrust of the Stallion to allow it do just about anything and MORE.

You will want to call Ken @ TMCX @TurbineMoose #TurbineMoose about pricing (509) 432-1442. The turbine conversion of a regular Helio will never be as fast as a Stallion or carry as much cargo/people, but it will have the capability to fly CONSIDERABLY slower than a Stallion making it much more suitable for STOL and back country flying on or off the water while achieving reasonable cruise speed ~140mph for an aircraft of its class.

Thank you for sharing that memory. We are hoping that this powerplant/prop combo will produce enough thrust to literally hover even more often.

205 lbs LESS (diet) so far and a 150 extra shaft horse power but the PT6A-20 probably has 2-3 times the torque of the Lycoming IO-720 so can run a lot more propeller. Without lab testing, double the static thrust would be a good guess.

The wheels on this particular example will be replaced by larger tundra tires for testing - the turbine can easily overcome any additional drag - and then eventually amphibious floats. If a customer were to stay with smaller tires, then a much smaller 4 or 5 blade prop would be the ticket. The Courier does have forward placed main landing gear, so is very difficult to impossible to nose over and becomes airborne on take-offs with the tail only a couple of inches off of the ground.

@@cascadeaircraftconversionsthanks for the reply- such a great aircraft

Thank you for the memory. Like many machine-based endeavors, it's always nice to have more power. It's fantastic to achieve it while lowering weight and increasing reliability.

Up to twelve according to @thecitizen49

Despite the forward gear preventing nose over on smooth surfaces, we would agree that the small tires aren't suitable for back country rough runways. These just happen to be the wheels/tires this came in with - it will get larger ones even for testing and this particular aircraft will eventually pick up amphibious floats.

Update: If you wander over to our page on FB facebook.com/share/p/YfNkqMP2YLugzerp/ you can see the Helio with the tundra tires. These will be for initial testing only, however. This particular Helio will get outfitted with some Wipline amphibious floats. The next Helio conversion, a Helio Courier H-700, will start conversion this fall and remain on a tundra tire.

That's what the power lever is for. Can be operated as quiet as a PC12 I bet, and they're all over Europe!!

If noise is a concern, a lot can be accomplished with choice of propeller. On our CAC PT6A-140AG conversion of a Thrush 510G or 510P Ag plane, our installed Avia V508H/108/A three-blade propeller makes that aircraft considerably quieter than the prop from the factory. Also, the comment below about the power lever is quite appropriate. Much of the noise abatement on our AG 140 conversion revolves around a maximum prop speed of 1900 rpm versus the PT6A-34 typical max prop speed of 2200 rpm. That extra 300 rpm makes up the lion's share of excess noise.

If only we had a tower....

That's not a dust storm... it's pesticide from that sprayer. MUCH worse.

The turbine sure does add incredible new levels of thrust and reliability.

Thank you for your comment. You will get to see plenty of upcoming "airshow" after the conversion as well.

Thank you for sharing the memory. We are looking for this aircraft to become competitive in STOL contests.

Us either!

Very Soon! Likely next week.