Calumet Manufacturing (prerotators and seat tanks) up for sale

Adam H

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 31, 2005
Messages
580
Location
Homer Glen, IL
Aircraft
Dominator
Nick and I have decided to sell Calumet Manufacturing, makers of Wunderlich prerotators and components as well as seat tanks. Due to personal time constraints, we are unable to continue to operate. We are selling everything needed to manufacture all of our components as well as all of our inventory. That includes a Bridgeport Mill, 2 lathes, 2 presses, all our casting forms, jigs, seat tank mold, misc. hardware, etc. If you are interested, let us know at [email protected]

Thank you to all our customers!
 
All, I was corresponding with Adam Helwich regarding a Wunderlich power transfer flex shaft, but he says they have "suspended operations".
Anyone have an alternate source for flex-cable pre-rotator components?
Brian
 
All, I was corresponding with Adam Helwich regarding a Wunderlich power transfer flex shaft, but he says they have "suspended operations".
Anyone have an alternate source for flex-cable pre-rotator components?
Brian
I got the same message. I need a flex cable also.
 
A little internet searching revealed: http://www.flexishaft.com/powertransmission.htm
I'll contact them to see if they can help as I can't wait 'til summer. :rolleyes:
This is only a mechanical power transfer system; it is solvable with a bit of work.
I was hoping to get a bit more information from Adam, but that seems to be all he'll say about it.
 
So.... Dennis, Does that mean you purchased the assets of Calumet manufacturing ??
Will Flex shaft pre rotators be back on the market ??
Should i wait ? or just go "Electric "?
 
Doing flexibleshaft is not too bad. You have to determine what the manufacturer recommends for the torque it can handle at expected RPM, throw in a safety factor and come up with a length and usually they can make one for you. Whether they will do it if you tell them its going in an aircraft (if US manufacturer) is a different story.
 
So.... Dennis, Does that mean you purchased the assets of Calumet manufacturing ??
Will Flex shaft pre rotators be back on the market ??
Should i wait ? or just go "Electric "?
We've been working on adding the flex shafts to our product line for a while now.

I have been providing the flex shaft adaptors for our rotor heads and PR drives for some time now.
But, since we do not use flex shafts themselves on our gyro kits, it has not been a priority for us.

Seeing the demand rise however, I'll be moving this up on the to-do list.

We will have our full line of PR drives on display at Bensen Days (and Sun n Fun, and Mentone, and Oshkosh, and Mt Vernon...Etc.:).

Adaptors for B, C, and E gearboxes. Left and right outputs. Also Rotax 9XX configurations.
Output configurations for Rigid shaft, Flex shaft, and Hydraulic.
And yes...We will probably have flex shafts on display too!

Denis
 
Thats great to hear !!
It just seems like the lightest, easiest way to pre spin blades up.
Curious if its adaptable to a belt drive reduction unit ?
I have that unit on my Quicksilver ultralight and it may someday find its way onto the Gyro im building. (3DRV)
 
I keep hoping that manufacturers will take a stab at alternative systems for transferring engine power up to the rotorhead.

The RFD hydraulic prerotator on my tandem Dominator worked nicely and was fairly powerful. The Metrolaunch belt-driven system on the Monarch is very powerful, although the heavy redrive hung from the rotorhead, and the direct drive off the crankshaft, are both a little worrisome. Neither of these units is marketed anymore, but perhaps some enterprising gyro supplier could reintroduce improved versions of one or the other.

Some people have used a pair of telescoping square tubes as a driveshaft whose length can vary with control movements. I imagine that this prevents fore-aft control movements as long as torque is being applied -- but I've never tried it.
 
The unit Ken Brock designed for the KB3 seemed like a bit of a Rube Goldberg machine, but did its job.
The Wonderlick flex shaft just always seemed like the lightest, simplest way to spin blades up.
Never had one on the Bensen i owned many years ago...(couldnt afford it). If i wanted to fly, i had to work for it ! lol
 
Me, neither, on my old Bensen -- same rea$on.

The "armstrong" method worked well with Bensen blades. The cool kids at the time, though, had the Bensen 1 hp engine-driven prerotator. It was good for maybe 150 RPM, a figure better than most electric-motor prerotators, but that a flex-shaft or hydraulic prerotator can easily beat.
 
Brock's KB-3 pre-rotator was slightly Rube Goldberg but worked really well and light weight. Anything Ken did was well thought out.
He eschewed the use of a Wunderlich on his KB-2 because he wanted to stay simple and light. He was adept at getting the rotor to a good speed through
use of the McCulloch prop wash.
Bensen's Armstrong pre-rotator was flat simple !

The unit Ken Brock designed for the KB3 seemed like a bit of a Rube Goldberg machine, but did its job.
The Wonderlick flex shaft just always seemed like the lightest, simplest way to spin blades up.
Never had one on the Bensen i owned many years ago...(couldnt afford it). If i wanted to fly, i had to work for it ! lol
 
A little internet searching revealed: http://www.flexishaft.com/powertransmission.htm
I'll contact them to see if they can help as I can't wait 'til summer. :rolleyes:
This is only a mechanical power transfer system; it is solvable with a bit of work.
I was hoping to get a bit more information from Adam, but that seems to be all he'll say about it.
Update: I got the custom flexshaft and it seems to fit just fine.
Turn-around time was excellent; I rec'd the product about a week after ordering.
Would not hesitate to use them again.
 
Top