April 2006 Cover Story:
Constant Innovation: Texas Flyways, Inc.

Story by Jim Hartley

Boerne (pronounced “Bernie”) sits amidst the low, rolling hills and limestone ridges of the Texas Hill Country. Moving too fast or speaking too loudly might cause one to be thought of as “all hat and no cattle.” When someone makes a scene, or gets his or her name in the paper in a splashy or unfortunate manner, his neighbors say, “Don’t seem right; his folks weren’t like that.”

Outside of Boerne, a bit to the west, is Boerne Stage Field (5C1). There are about a hundred airplanes that live there. There’s a flight school, a fair-sized FBO and the usual mix of aviation activity that you find at an airport like 5C1. That is until you get to the far north end of the field. A medium-sized white hangar sits just off the end and to the east of the single runway. A small sign identifies it as the home of Texas Skyways. Things look pretty quiet from the outside, but big things are happening inside. Jack Johnson and his wife Mickey are quietly changing the face of general aviation.

Jack and Mickey make a living modifying Cessnas. They improve performance by installing more powerful and efficient engines. Their most popular conversion is for the Cessna 182. They remove the original Continental O-470 engine and replace it with a new (or remanufactured) Continental O-550FTS or O-520FTS. The engines are 285 and 280 horsepower respectively. Many of the conversions include a new three-blade propeller. Texas Skyways completes about one conversion a week, fifty or so in the last year. The conversion takes a couple of weeks.

They invented, certified and install a “Total Drain Oil Sump.” Most Continental 470, 520 and 550 retain almost a quart of dirty oil after the sump is drained. Jack says that this oil, including contaminants, is pumped back into the engine after new oil is added at an oil change, since the oil pick up tube is at the bottom of the oil sump. Texas Skyways modifies the oil sump by moving the oil drain plug to the lowest point on the sump. Since everything drains out, the sump can even be flushed before new oil is added.

They have developed nosewheel, engine air intake and exhaust fairings. The fairings improve the looks of the front of the airplane as well as provide improved cooling. Texas Skyways, as part of an ongoing focus on the popular Cessna 180s and 182s, offers specially designed engine mounts. Jack found that as the fleet of aircraft ages, some owners have found that their engine/ airframe combination vibrates excessively. Traditionally, most owners have tried to cure excessive vibration with propeller balancing. Jack agrees that prop balancing is a good start, but it may not be the complete answer. With the introduction of a stiffer and more rigid mount, and the use of vibration isolators approximately twice as thick as the original isolators, Texas Skyways offers an owner of any Continental-powered Cessna 180 or 182, regardless of engine time, a much improved and smoother ride.

Jack also developed a Starter Warning Indicator System to alert pilots that their starter has not disengaged after engine start. Texas Skyways recognized that as aircraft age, occasionally starter solenoids allow moisture to seep in, causing corrosion to the core of the electromagnet in the solenoid. When the aircraft ignition key is turned to the start position, the electromagnet in the solenoid pulls the main starting contacts closed. When the ignition key is released, the spring inside the solenoid might not be strong enough to open the contact points due to corrosion build up. The starter could remain engaged and cause severe damage to the engine, the starter, and possibly to the pilot. By installing the Starter Warning Indicator Kit the pilot is able to monitor, via a small warning light on the instrument panel, when the starter is engaged or disengaged. It is simple and very effective.

With the price of a new Cessna 182 at more than a third of a million dollars, there is a sound case to be made for the improvements and modifications that Jack and Mickey offer. Instead of a new airplane, you might consider buying a used Cessna; there are a lot of pretty nice 182s out there for a hundred grand or so. Then take a trip to Texas Skyways for engine and propeller upgrades, then on to a good avionics shop for some Garmin (or equivalent) panel pretties, and finally a sharp new paint job and new interior leather. You will probably still have enough left to buy a Van’s RV for weekend fun (Jack’s got one).

Jack has been involved in development of ethanol as an aviation fuel for several years in cooperation with the University of South Dakota (see: “Ethanol – The Future Might Be Now” on the next page). He describes the vagaries of University funding and politics as well as a sometimes incredible struggle with the Federal Aviation Administration.

He tells about the contradictions of working out on the edge of aviation fuel development. He is as perplexed as anyone by the fact that the FAA helps fund ethanol research with one hand and denies certification of the fuel with the other. Jack lives in a rare territory, between university researchers who, as long as they are researching, are happy; and hard-nosed aviation types, both airplane owners and aviation regulators, who grew up with, and intend to die with, avgas.

Jack knows that the likelihood of making big money off of his STC for modification of engines to allow them to use ethanol is fairly slight. His prosperous engine and propeller business help him pursue the ethanol program though. He wants to give something back to aviation. He would never describe himself as a pioneer; he’s far too modest. He also would never admit that a big part of the reason he lives out on the edge is that somebody, somewhere, told him that he couldn’t.

Jack and Mickey are modest people. They do own the big hangar where their office is, the one behind that, the one behind that one and the two across the street. They do have a few airplanes, pretty nice ones with engine conversions and sweet-sounding props, and, as mentioned before, a Van’s RV for fun. They own forty-seven STCs for various aircraft modifications, mostly for Cessnas. They fit right in with their Texas surroundings. They know that they have no given right to be successful, but that in Texas, and in general aviation, doing the right things, quietly and professionally and with perseverance, is the way that it’s done.