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At the request of the FAA, a committee was formed by the RTCA organization to prepare a Minimum Operating Performance Standard (MOPS) for Rechargeable Aircraft Lithium Battery Systems. This committee has being working for the last 2 years and completed the final draft during their 6th meeting in February 2008. Lithium Battery approval will be different than Nickel-Cadmium and Lead-Acid in that they will incorporate additional safety and documentation requirements. The MOPS, to be used by the FAA as the basis for a Technical Standard Order (TSO), includes the testing and evaluation criteria required for rechargeable lithium battery systems airworthiness demonstration.

The United States Navy has flown Sealed Lead-Acid Batteries (SLA) for approximately 15 years. The first SLA aircraft batteries were cylindrical cell design and evolved to a prismatic design to save weight, volume, and to increase rate capability. This paper discusses the evolution of the SLA aircraft battery designs, present SLA battery performance, and battery size available along with their aircraft applications (both military & commercial). The paper provides some of the reliability data from present applications. Finally, the paper discusses future evolution of the SLA technology required to improve performance and to remain the technology of choice over other sealed aircraft battery designs.

In the continuing effort to save Fleet Operations and Maintenance (O&M) costs, a united effort was launched to propose the replacement of the Nickel-Cadmium battery on the F-5 aircraft with a valve-regulated, sealed lead-acid battery. The Aging Aircraft IPT (AAIPT) at Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River (PAX River), Maryland presented the concept to the Value Engineering group at Defense Supply Center Richmond, Virginia and successfully obtained funding for this and other Aging Aircraft efforts. The AAIPT then approached the Propulsion and Power Division of Naval Air Systems Command (AIR-4.4.4.1) as the cognizant engineering activity over batteries. AIR-4.4.4.1 then requested the assistance of Crane Division of Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC Crane) to develop a test plan and a Memorandum of Agreement and to obtain flight test authority as well as conduct the flight test.

Radio Technology Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA) at the request of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) formed a committee to prepare a Minimum Operating Performance Standard (MOPS) for aircraft batteries. The MOPS was limited to rechargeable and starting batteries as power sources for equipment installed in aircraft. This committee has being working for the last 3 years and completed the final draft during their 6th meeting in April 2004. The MOPS, to be used by the FAA as the base for a Technical Standard Order (TSO) in preparation, includes the testing and evaluation criteria required for secondary Lead-Acid (Pb-A) and Nickel-Cadmium (Ni-Cd) batteries airworthiness demonstration.

Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm the reality that it is not enough for a battery to be safe at high temperature. The military also requires them to operate reliably at high temperature. This paper first discusses some of the problems encountered with aircraft batteries during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. It then describes testing vented Ni-Cd batteries at temperatures as high as 190°F that simulated flying multiple sorties with the engine start battery charged from the aircraft bus. This paper then presents the test results that indicate current airborne charge limit parameters can be increased and allow military aircraft operate in greater temperature extremes. This paper concludes with recommendations on further improvements to low maintenance Ni-Cd batteries that will further enhance the operational flexibility of this robust battery design.