Just read an article about http://www.vitatoeaviation.com having developed an STC to put a TN IO-550P into the P210, replacing the TSIO-520. The article claimed some impressive performance improvements. They hit 209KTAS at 23,000 with 31"MP, 2500RPM, and 17.6GPH. OAT was +12C. Climbed straight to 23,000 at 100 to 105kts with no CHT exceeding 360degF. Interestingly, the STC requires the Auracle engine monitor.

I'd like the chance to fly one and see what it's all about. On paper it looks like a nice pressurized single.

How many of you P Baron guys would be interested in such a conversion? The intro price for the conversion on the P210 is $92,000 and assumes that the customer's engine is an acceptable core. I imagine not many of you would be interested when you factor in the cost of 2 engines, but that would be a heck of a setup it seems.

Ha! That's a hell of a website. I wasn't able to get to it at work and just put the link in from the magazine article, so I'm just now getting a chance to look at it. Doesn't inspire much confidence in the product, does it? Still an interesting airplane, but I'd have plenty of questions if I were in the market for one. I'd like to see those performance figures/temps for myself. I may have to visit the booth at Oshkosh and see what these guys are all about.

Hi Mike,
Sorry about the website. It is still under construction. We were concentrating on the engine/airframe first. We will get it corrected as soon as possible. I hope to get a chance to meet and discuss our STC further at Oshkosh. We will be in display area 461 just northeast of the FAA tower.

Response to the STC has been great. The overall performance is even better than we had hoped originally. Our goal was an aircraft that could attain 200KTAS at 20,000' and we have demonstrated speeds significantly better than that. The best feature is how cool the engine operates and how easily it flies very LOP.

We have been scheduling demo flights at our base in Ohio (KCYO). Anyone seriously interested in our conversions, please email me at larry.vitatoe@vitatoe.com.
We are still using the term conversion, but the change in the aircraft is more of a transformation. Our package includes a remanufactured IO550P, new Hartzell prop, Atlantic Aero 6 point engine mount kit, dual intercoolers, new pressurized magnetos, and all the baffles, brackets, hoses, etc. needed to make it all fit and work. The base price does not include the Auracle which many customers already have.

We welcome questions and comments. Thanks for the interest. Larry

Is there something wrong with my browser, or is the whole web site in Latin?

The old website was being updated to a new format that should have not been released yet. What you are seeing is the new format but without the updated text. The format provider has jibberish to hold space and provide an example of layout. Our website designer inadvertently allowed access to the unfinished revision before it was completed. The old website should have still been available until the new revision was complete. We apologize for the confusion. We will have the updated, complete version done next week. We apologize for the inconvenience and hope you will try the website again later next week. Thanks, Larry.

Now that's funny! ! ! I'm still laughing

Hi, Larry. Good to see you here. I'm not in the market, as I just bought into a V35B partnership, but I like to keep an eye on all things GA and found your conversion to be interesting. It looks like it significantly outperforms the standard P210, and I bet it was a fun and rewarding project. I'll definitely stop by at Oshkosh and check it out.

Do you have any Auracle data files from a recent flight that you could post here for us to review?

Hi Mike,
I look forward to seeing you at OSH. I don't have access to Auracle files from here, but will post some next week. There are two flights for viewing on flightaware.com. Our tail number is N4789K. We took the plane to Lafayette IN and back for an air to air photo shoot. We had a head wind going westbound. The next morning, we had a slight headwind on take-off and descended with a slight tail wind. It was a fairly short trip so we only went to 13,000 for the return home. We climb full throttle (31"MP) full RPM (2700) and full fuel (35-36.5 GPH). We cruise at 30" MP, 2500 RPM, 17.6 GPH LOP. Most cruise is done with cowl flaps closed or only open one notch. Hottest cylinder is #2 below 380* in climb and around 360* in cruise. This combination produces 262 BHP at cruise. Thanks for your interest.
Larry

Very interesting application. . will definitely stop by and say hi at Oshkosh next week!

Hi Brandon,
I look forward to meeting you next week at Oshkosh. We have released the new website, and although not totally finished, it is much better than what we had before and it is not in Latin Try http://www.vitatoeaviation.com

Thanks,
Larry

Hey Larry, how are things going with your conversion these days? The last extensive articles I saw was by Rick Durden on Avweb and Aviation Consumer in May '15.

Hi Brian,
We have been pretty busy completing conversions. We are now working on #42. Response has been excellent and we appreciate the interest and support. We skipped OSH this year because of schedule and work conflicts, but plan on being back next year.

Thanks for asking,
Larry

Seems like I read that it is a 4 week process for conversion. If finishing #42, in just over 5 years of existence of the STC, that is 10 conversions per year. I only recall seeing one go onto the open used market.

RAS

Hi Richard,
The TN550 conversion estimated completion time is 12-16 weeks. The fastest we have completed one was 8 weeks. The process is very thorough and extensive including an actual weight and balance of the aircraft, prop/engine balance, and test flights at low and high altitudes to confirm lean of peak operation at all altitudes.

We now have PMA on our TN550 conversion kit so installations don't always have to be done in Ohio. We currently have one being completed in Colorado and another one in Texas. This should give us more time to do additional STC research and development and expand our existing STC's to additional aircraft models.

Larry

Any updates on the conversion?

Any Pireps of anyone that has owned one of these for a while?

Ongoing maintenance issues?