Step Retract Bellows M20C

[carusoam]

Welcome aboard, CS.

Interesting set of details you have there.

Best regards,

-a-

[RLCarter]

1 hour ago, CSmith said:

Here is the real story of the Mooney retractable step servo manufactured by Brittain Industries.  

Where does your info come from?. When I spoke to Brittain Industries I offered to have a good friend in the Injection Molding Industry make a new mold and stop screwing around with bad repairs on the damaged mold, never heard anything else. This problem has been before 2013, unless the mold was damaged again 

[Bob_Belville]

8 hours ago, RLCarter said:

Where does your info come from?. When I spoke to Brittain Industries I offered to have a good friend in the Injection Molding Industry make a new mold and stop screwing around with bad repairs on the damaged mold, never heard anything else. This problem has been before 2013, unless the mold was damaged again 

2013 sounds about right. according to my logs I replaced mine 1/4/2013 and Brittain was having no problem at that time. I received an exchange unit immediately, before I sent the bad one back. I recall that some months later another Mooney on the field needed one and Brittain had a problem replacing his.

[CSmith]

My information comes direct from Brittain Industries who say they are actively working towards a solution.

[Drumstick]

On 8/16/2017 at 10:52 AM, M20F-1968 said:

Drumstick:

Just sent you a PM.

John Breda

John - I don't think I ever got your PM.  I've heard the latest attempt at getting a seal made failed.

[MyNameIsNobody]

23 hours ago, CSmith said:

Here is the real story of the Mooney retractable step servo manufactured by Brittain Industries.  

The rubber bellow for the step servo (P/N 4059-1) is a part number 1551 (seal only).  It is not manufactured by Beech and it is not used in the KingAir.  It is however used in the Beech elevator servos in conjunction with their pitch stabilization systems.  The Brittain rudder boost servo used in the Beech King Air is a P/N 1900-7.4-1 which uses a rubber bellow P/N 1900-140.  These are all proprietary parts of Brittain Industries, Inc. and the seals 1551 and 1900-140 are very different in length and diameter.

The 1551 mold was damaged by a vendor in Missouri in 2013 and since that time the seal has been available only sporadically as the mold was moved from vendor to vendor in an effort to salvage the tool.  In November 2016 it landed with a vendor in Ohio who has repaired the guide pins and the mold core and the mold now produces a cylindrical part.  However, because of previous un-approved revisions to the mold the material called for on the design drawings now cures too quickly during the molding process resulting in a seal that is too thick for use with the servo assembly.  Brittain is in the process of both experimenting with other materials and also working to produce a new mold entirely.  

In addition to use in the Mooney retractable step servo the Brittain seal P/N 1551 is also used in the Precise Flight speed brake system and as noted above, used by Brittain for production of Beech elevator servos in conjunction with their pitch stabilization systems.

All other Brittain servo assemblies; aileron, rudder, Mooney elevator and King Air rudder boost are still being repaired and produced new by the company in Tulsa Oklahoma and they plan to have the step and Beech elevator back online by years end with the creation of the new mold for the 1551 seal.

Good stuff..So both mold and compound.....

[Drumstick]

Anybody heard anything new from Brittain?

[CSmith]

I just spoke with Cecilia at Brittain.  She tells me they have received a small first run quantity of the seal and have begun the process of working through their backlog while awaiting completion of their full order of parts.  She stated that they are working the backlog first in, first out and cautioned that they do not have the material or manpower yet to work the overwhelming number of request on their backlog overnight but would be contacting customers directly as the parts become more readily available.  So if you are on the list you should be getting a call in the near future.  If you are not on their list you should contact them.

[MyNameIsNobody]

I got a call from CC today.  She said we were 4th on the list.  I let her know Jerry repaired ours when in for auto-pilot and step servo is working well.  Part is around $200 reconditioned from Brittain this year and they will try and hold close to that price in 2018...

Nice to see progress.  They ended up getting a firm in Ohio to redo tooling.  It is now an injected (injection molded)  part  that is smooth and polymers should outperform original.

[RLCarter]

Just got a call from Brittain, the step servos are in stock

[RLCarter]

3 minutes ago, GEE-BEE said:

Can someone post a pic ?

 

GB

Of the boot or the complete unit?

[moontownMooney]

We received our call from Cecilia at Brittain in mid-Nov. I believe our tail number had been on the wait list for around two years (prior owner). Cecilia indicated that there should be no limit in availability of the part, but will take some time (just labor and logistics) to tackle the backlog. You have to send them your current unit for them to incorporate the new part.

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[deanders]

Brittain had my servo for a year and a half while they made their new mold. I received an overhauled servo with their new boot installed several weeks ago. It looks and works great. They have a backlog to work through so it may take awhile.  

[moontownMooney]

They are currently stating a 5-10 day turn time.

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[2eskies]

They are currently stating a 5-10 day turn time.

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Got my refurbished Servo back from Brittain this week. Received it 7 days after mailing it (Dallas - Tulsa). Looks great! Only $245 including shipping.

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[HRM]

5 hours ago, 2eskies said:

Got my refurbished Servo back from Brittain this week. Received it 7 days after mailing it (Dallas - Tulsa). Looks great! Only $245 including shipping.

That really is a bargain considering the rarity of the system and the fact that they refurb your servo. They were unsure if they should go ahead with having a new system developed for the boots, so I hope they are making some money with this.

[M20F-1968]

Brittain can now supply a rebuild step servo.

John Breda

[CSmith]

Hello everyone, this is Cecilia Henderson with Brittain Industries.  My friend Chuck let me borrow his account so I could speak to all of you directly regarding Brittain.  On December 15th my brother Jerry Walters, our owner and resident expert, passed away after a brief battle with cancer.  As many of you already know, Jerry was the heart and soul of Brittain and leaves behind a big foot print which is impossible to fill.  Those of us left behind are desperately trying to find a way to move the company forward but with Jerry's passing we have lost our only certificated repairman (return to service authorization), our chief inspector (production approval), accountable manager and autopilot installation/repair expert.  Given the current circumstances we are unable to repair or produce any product at this time and therefore must ask that you NOT send your step servos or any other products to us until further notice.  If you already have product in our shop we will be in touch with you very soon about returning the products and we will keep you posted about our future via our website www.brittainautopilots.com

We are so grateful to the Mooney community for their support of our products over the decades and we will do everything possible to restart the company in as quick a time frame as we can.  We know many of you still have servos in need of repair and may even be on our backlog for upgrades to your current system.  Efforts are under way to sell the company in the hopes of completing the re-tooling of our production line and meeting our backlogged orders but this transition will take some time as we hire, train and apply for FAA approval of a new autopilot expert.

We invite you to reach out through our email account, support@brittainautopilots.com with your questions and request and Kevin and I will do all we can to assist you through this transition.  Thank you Mooney flyers, we hope to see you on the other side of this sad transition.

Sincerely,

Cecilia Henderson  

    

Edited December 27, 2017 by CSmith

[DonMuncy]

Cecilia,

So sorry for your loss and the loss to our community. 

[moontownMooney]

Cecilia, I'm so sorry for your loss. You all are the kind of people who make the Mooney community so wonderful. I'll pray for your family in this time of grief and also root for a successful transition of the company. Brittain truly holds a special place within GA because of its products and it's people.

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[MyNameIsNobody]

CC:  So sorry for the loss of Jerry.  Thinking of you and family.  

Scott 

[jamesm]

I am curious,

On the newly refurbished or new step  vacuum retraction  unit does in list max suction it can take ?

I would like to know if Brittian  has limit in HG.

 

Thanks,

James '67C

[Scott H Poms]

I have seed one of those vacuum servos repaired by using a silicone swim cap....just a heads up if you are waiting for replacement rubber boot.

[carusoam]

13 hours ago, GEE-BEE AEROPRODUCTS said:

Pic of the boot ?

GB

 

Something you could be really good at supplying…

There are a couple of pics in this thread…

There are also industrial suppliers of similar boots…

But, nobody has put it all together yet…

The step Servo is not as important as the other ones…

The step has a supplier of an electric servo motor…

Best regards,

-a-