Airforms: Filling the Gaps that Manufacturers Leave

Airforms, Inc. located in Wasilla, Alaska, is where Lee Budde and his team manufacture baffles, the often neglected aircraft part that lies at the heart of this business. (Photo courtesy Airforms, Inc.)

By Annamarie Buonocore

In Flight USA had the pleasure of speaking with Lee Budde, founder and owner of Airforms, Inc. located in Wasilla, Alaska. While many pilots and aircraft owners don’t think about baffles all too often, they are at the heart of Airforms, along with many other small aircraft parts. Airforms keeps fleets of aircraft flying!

IF USA: Tell me a little about Airforms and what you do?

Lee Budde: Airforms was founded in 1998 and we started out building PA 18 fuselages. We got PMA (Parts Manufacturing Authority) from the FAA and built SuperCub parts and STCs, and innovations. We (eventually) sold that part of the business and then focused on engine baffles, which nobody was making, so I pretty much have the world market on that. It’s kind of an overlooked product that people don’t think about. People get a new engine and then go to put the ratty old baffles on and that’s not good enough. We try and keep them in stock. Besides the engine baffle line, which we have for more than 60 airplanes, we now have about 5,000 part numbers in the system. Then there is the Cessna Caravan line and that’s typically STCs that fix something that needed improvement, so that keeps that line going. And then there are a few miscellaneous things… we’ve got a number of Casa 212 parts that solve a lot of issues and keep that line going.

IF USA: What do baffles do?

LB: They direct the air over the cooling fins so that the engine cools properly. Almost all airplane engines are air-cooled and it’s an intricate set of sheet metal pieces that make all the complex fit issues work so the air enters the front of the cowling correctly, passes through the cylinders and out through the bottom of the cowling. If there are issues or problems, you can get overheating or overcooling in different parts of the engine. It’s critical and often overlooked.

IF USA: Do you make them for all aircraft, large and small, or do you have a certain type you focus on.

LB: There are about 60 different types of aircraft that we make them for; certainly not for all aircraft, but basically we cover the ones that regularly need them. There are some airplanes, not very many, that don’t need them but all the Cessna line and most of the Piper line do, and we have a large selection of parts.

IF USA: Is this a factory in Alaska or do you have them made elsewhere and then sell them

LB: Oh no, I build them all here in Alaska. We have a CNC sheet metal shop with computerized, numerically controlled equipment, some of which is state of the art. They are very precisely made on that equipment. There is oversight by the FAA. We work closely with the FAA. We get our FAA approvals in Alaska. We build the baffles here, all of them, 100 percent. 

IF USA: How many employees do you have?

LB: We have 10 employees

IF USA: You’ve been in aviation a long time, but how long have you been doing this?

LB: I grew up on a runway as a kid on a farm. I soloed on my 16th birthday. I got to Alaska when I was 18. I bought an airplane the next year and flew for a living. Then as things evolved ­ – I did bush-type flying – I wanted to build airplane parts. I worked with the FAA and got my PMA license. I started building up the business and originally did all the work myself. I drew the drawings and did the liaison with the FAA. I did the sales and kept adding employees. I got to where I had about 20 employees and then sold the SuperCub line off and focused on the baffles and things that can be built with automated equipment. 

IF USA: How long have you been doing this?

LB: 1998 until now but I’ve been in aviation all along. I hold an A&P mechanic license, commercial pilot ratings and flight instructor. The actual business has been since 1998 until now.

IF USA: What’s your favorite kind of aircraft to fly?

 LB: Well, taildraggers and float planes. That’s the Alaska thing! I have a few aircraft and I also fly gliders (and they don’t need baffles).

IF USA: Does you company do work for commercial planes?

LB: No, not big commercial airplanes but we do have parts for a number of smaller commercially used airplanes, like twins and Part 135 Air Taxi aircraft. 

IF USA: Is there any advice for pilots and aircraft owners to protect baffles and how long do they last?

LB: It varies, depending on use and how they were installed. If they were installed with tension in them, it will make them crack sooner. It is really by determined by use. If an airplane is rarely used, the baffles will last forever. But the main thing about the baffles is to give them some attention. You can usually tell from visual inspection if something is going on. If you want to do it properly, you will do a check by putting a light behind them in a dark hangar and look inside to see if there are any light leaks. Attention and TLC makes them work a lot better.

IF USA: There could be serious dangers if they are not working or installed properly. Can you address that?

 LB: It’s not usually a catastrophic kind of danger but a danger of overheating a portion of the  engine and then having to do a premature overhaul.

IF USA: Is there any thing you’d like to add?

LB: The mission of Airforms is to supply parts for airplanes that aren’t otherwise being covered. The mission of PMA is to fill in the gaps that manufacturers leave, so we do that in order to keep the fleets flying. Sometimes airplanes are orphaned and there is not a source of parts for them. What’s interesting is that about 30 percent of all aircraft parts, including the transport category of aircraft, are built under part manufacturing authority.

IF USA: Thank you so much.

To learn more about Airforms, visit their website at www.airforms.biz. They ship at competitive rates throughout the world.