CCU 10™
US Patent 7,305,842, 8,047,903B1, 9,481,468- others pending
STC SA03272AT PMA PQ3967CE
The CCU™ pressurization system is combined with a superior 134a air conditioning system featuring a variable speed freon compressor. The compressor speed is changed to control the air conditioning level, instead of slamming the compressor on and off with high current spikes, as other systems do. The system uses dual condensers to optimize efficiency. The result is superior cooling with no more current draw than other systems that provide less cooling. The air conditioning has no altitude restriction.
The "soft start" compressor drive module eliminates high starting currents and allows the system to pre cool the aircraft from a conventional 120VAC electrical outlet with a 10 pound on-board installed GPU Module. This new feature mounts the GPU module in the aircraft so only an extension cord is required for pre-cooling. No cabin access is required to pre-cool your cabin. The line man simply plugs the extension cord into a connector in the baggage compartment. That is all there is to it!
Gain up to a 6% fuel burn reduction at the same horsepower and a 40 horsepower increase at the same fuel flow. A typical 9 degree celsius engine temperature reduction. An average gain of 90 mile range increase. A 15 pound installed weight reduction and less fuel burn for more useful load. Dramatic improvements in reliability compared to OEM systems. No bleed air in the cabin, no deadly TCP contamination as seen on the documentary, "aerotoxic syndrome." More than twice the pressurization air flow volume for full differential without repeated cabin sealing. Reduced maintenance & parts costs. Lower engine temperatures means less maintenance and fewer ITT harness replacements. New backup emergency pressurization feature with full differential in seconds. The CCU 10 is by far the best air conditioning system for your Commander on the market.
Performance Advantages for the Jetprop Series Commanders:
Performance Advantages for the 690 Series Turbo Commanders:
Gain up to a 10% fuel burn reduction at the same horsepower and a 60 horsepower increase at the same fuel flow. A 14 degree celsius engine temperature reduction for less maintenance. An average gain of 120 mile range. A 65+ pound installed weight reduction and less fuel for more useful load. Eliminate that hole in the roof, gain equipment bay space. No bleed air in the cabin, no deadly TCP contamination as seen on the documentary, "aerotoxic syndrome." Twice the pressurization air flow-\ volume- full differential without repeated cabin sealing. Reduced maintenance and parts costs with no expensive ground blower or bleed air valve replacement. Lower engine temperatures means less maintenance and fewer ITT harness replacements. New backup emergency pressurization feature with full differential in seconds. The CCU 10 is by far the best air conditioning system for your Commander on the market.
Conventional ECU pressurization systems pressurize the aircraft cabin with bleed air that exceeds 100 psi and 600 degrees Fahrenheit. This antiquated concept puts toxic engine bleed air in the cabin, exposing passengers to TCP's and other turbine oil contaminants, with resulting aerotoxic syndrome poisoning, labelled as "the biggest coverup in aviation". It is the subject of several major lawsuits and incidents of "Aerotoxic Syndrome", including documented crew incapacitations .
Please click on the following links for just some of the toxic air syndrome publications:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMUc41uYoBshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerotoxic_syndromehttp://www.naturalnews.com/029014_air_travel_aerotoxic_syndrome.htmlhttp://www.drmyhill.co.uk/wiki/Aerotoxic_syndromehttp://www.avmed.in/2011/02/aerotoxic-syndrome-a-cause-for-concern/
The CCU™ pilot control panel for Pressurization and Air Conditioning. The pressurized oil supply for the turbocharger has a pressure readout. The turbocharger "in" pressure indication changes with the cabin pressure differential.
The CCU™ pressurizes without bleed air, even for cabin heating. A special turbocharger is driven directly by the hot high pressure bleed air. The compressor section of the turbocharger then pressurizes the cabin with only fresh outside air. Very little energy is wasted. The CCU™ uses only about 17 horsepower to pressurize the cabin. The OEM systems use as much as 80 horsepower! The result is that the bleed air volume from the engines is reduced by two thirds. The engines run more substantially cooler by not loosing all that bleed air volume, produce more horsepower at the same fuel flow, and toxic bleed air does not enter the cabin.
The CCU 10™ Turbocharger was developed and is in-house fabricated by PSA. The turbocharger is dynamically balanced to state of the art specifications so that it runs virtually vibrationless. It is now backed by a two year pro-rated warranty. Many installations have exceeded 1000 hours of service with a high time install times of over 2000 hours.
According to the block diagram, the aircraft bleed air is connected to the turbocharger through a pressure regulator controlled by a unique pressure controller that adjust the turbocharger speed depending on the aircraft altitude and cabin differential for the requirements of the aircraft cabin. This reduces the energy consumption and improves the air conditioning requirement.
The CCU™ provides substantially larger pressurization air flow than the OEM ECU, so that full pressurization can usually be achieved in "problem" cabins, without frequent expensive cabin resealing, especially for 6.7 differential Model 690D, 695A and 695B aircraft. Every CCU™ Installation achieves full differential.
The pressure regulator, turbocharger and heat valve assembly- a combination of superior technology and craftsmanship. The axial flow pressure regulator is a fail-safe design that qualifies as the total means of bleed air shutoff in the model 690/ 690A, and 690B aircraft, eliminating all those expensive and troublesome valves and after market bleed air shutoff upgrades.
RAM air cooling to the heat exchanger comes from a scoop installed in the aircraft belly service opening. It has a flapper that moves up and down to control the RAM air flow and the cabin temperature. At altitude in the "heat" mode, the flapper is fully retracted upward for minimal aerodynamic drag.
The heat exchanger housing includes ground blowers for ground air conditioner operation. These blowers use a small fraction of the 690/A/B ground blower power. The heat exchanger also houses the unique dual condensers for exceptional air conditioning.
The completed installation includes a new cabin overhead panel for more air conditioner air flow, since cooling air blows naturally downward throughout the cabin. A specially developed cockpit overhead blower results in an abundance of air flow from the pilot and copilot overhead vents.
Standard backup pressurization
An backup pressurization addition for the CCU™ is now standard on all installations. As shown in the block diagram, a pilot panel switch actuates a relay that opens a bleed air valve (1), directing bleed air flow through the CCU™ Heat Exchanger. The relay turns off bleed air to the turbocharger, and opens the flapper at the belly scoop (2) to cool the heat exchanger. It cannot be any simpler and more reliable. The CCU™ is the only pressurization system with a totally independent pressurization option.
With 20 years of installation experience, the CCU™ has matured with many improvements optimizing performance, serviceability, and reliability. This is a result of our intimate and tireless involvement with every installation, which allowed us to address discrepancies and user feedback with minor changes to reduce service requirements, improve accessibility, and reduce installation time.
When a change is made, it is accompanied with a service letter, so that, at the discretion of the owner, suitable updating of existing installations can be performed to incorporate those advantages when the particular service interval for that portion of the CCU™ is reached.
The result of all this is what we call our CCU10, with many years of CCU™ field experience. The CCU10 now includes our backup pressurization feature, which provides a separate backup pressurization system, available at the flick of a switch, if there is ever a problem with the primary pressurization. It will produce full differential at FL280 within seconds of activation, pressurizing with bleed air. The bleed air passes through the CCU™ heat exchanger so that the pressurization air is not excessively hot, unlike the OEM emergency pressurization concept, that was an option on some 6.7 psi differential aircraft. Th PSA backup pressurization will allow you to complete your flight at altitude.
Having removed many overhead panels and with lots of night flying experience, we felt Commander cabin lighting could be improved. So we developed optional LED Cabin Lighting. LED lighting is simpler, lighter, more efficient, produces more light, and it dim-able. Need we say more?
In the "high" mode, the cabin incident light level is raised to 16 fc, with the overhead spot lights on. We added floor lighting below the cabin tables, as shown. In the low position, there is just enough light in the cabin so it is not a deep black hole, without interfering with pilot vision.
As an added touch, the overhead push button switches for the spot lights are replaced with lighted switches, so you do not have to fumble around to find them at night. The Cup holders are lighted for accent.
LED Cabin lighting
The CCU10 Story
Maintenance
CCU™ Maintenance is based on the airframe time and supplemented by a separate CCU™ Hobbs meter for the air conditioning alone. You can stop by TN80 in your travels to have all the tasks performed in a few hours. The CCU™ Maintenance Intervals are extended 30 hours beyond the typical 150 hour airframe inspection tasks so CCU™ inspections are extended beyond the normal 150 hour airframe maintenance interval. CCU™ service can also be performed by one of several Commander Service centers. PSA technical support is available on a 24/7 basis.
CCU™ Cost Analysis - It pays for itself!
Cost of operation for Turbo Commander Aircraft with Sundstrand ECU @200 hours/ year use. Calculations are based on fuel @ $5.50 per gallon, Δ 1oC ITT/EGT = 1.88 hp, 2.5 hp = 1# fuel/hour.
1. Typical 21# / hour less fuel burn, for more payload & range.(21# x 200 hrs)
$3,447.00/year
2. Eliminate two fuel stops a year (engine cycles, etc.)
$1,000.00/year
3. A 430 gallon capacity Turbo Commander above FL250 will gain up to a 100 mile range increase.
4. 15 degrees celsius lower engine temperatures means reduced maintenance costs. No ITT harness replacement between HSI ( 2 x $4,000 x 1000 hrs/200 hrs per year)
$1,600.00/year
5. Other engine maintenance reductions- equal to ITT harness costs
$1,600.00/year
6. Sundstrand Overhaul @300 hr @ $30,000.00 vs. CCU overhaul @ 1,800 hr @ at $20,000.00 or less
$17,778.00/year
7. Cabin sealing to maintain full differential ($3,000 every 3 years)
$1,000.00/year
8. Your health- no TCP's & other toxins What's it worth to you?
$____________
9. Safety- fly with a backup pressurization system What's it worth to you?
$____________
If safety and your health have no value, you will save $26,425.00 per year! If you value your safety and your health, there is no basis of comparison. If you consider comparing the cost of a dash 10 conversion, the CCUTM is by far the best "bang for the buck". Those three "ifs" make the CCUTM right for your Commander!
Turbo Commander ECU Comparison
TURBO COMMANDER ECU SYSTEM FEATURES
FEATURE CCU Sundstrand ENVIRO Fairchild NOTE
Toxic cabin air None Yes Yes Yes Bleed Air Toxin
Pres. Air Flow 3X Low Low Low for full differential
Bleed Shutoff Failsafe Yes Yes marginal (1)
Backup System Standard No No No W/ Cool Cabin
Air Conditioning Best Medium Inadequate Medium -
Standard Add-on Add-on Add-on
no FL Limit FL180 limit FL180 limit FL180 limit
lowest weight most weight
A/C Air Flow Best, overhead Marginal Poor Marginal -
outlets
Pre-Cool w/o engine 120VAC or APU APU only w/ APU only w/ APU only w/ -
add-on A/C add-on A/C add-on A/C
Engine Temperature +4C +12C +12C +17C (2)
HP for Pressurization 17 hp 45 hp 45 hp 65 hp (3)
Fuel Savings 5- 10% - - -3% (4)
Troubleshooting simple average complex average (5)
Technology 2000's 1975's 1980's 1960's -
Part / Operational $ lowest high medium medium -
Main Issues not on your airplane low reliability poor cooling inefficient, -
hi alt. diff. poor accessibility
electrical
Cabin leak tolerance high moderate low moderate (6)
Warranty 6 Mo P&L, 1 year 1 Year parts n/a -
2 Yr Parts, overhauled
turbo pro-rated components
Factory Support Yes 24/7 None ? None (7)
(1) Engine bleed air shutoff valve addition @ $30,000+ is recommended for the OEM system
(2) The EGT / ITT temperature change when the bleed air is turned on to pressurize
(3) HP used for pressurization = Engine temp. rise (in degrees C) with bleed air on X 1.88
(4) 2.5 HP = 1 pound of fuel per hour
(5) Complex procedures / specialized equipment needed to troubleshoot
(6) Low pressurization cabin airflow requires periodic cabin sealing
(7) Who has answers when there is a real problem?