I would like to get a feel for what a CS prop should be costing to maintain on an annual basis, 2 or 3 blade = all information would be great! I heard it would cost a couple of grand to get a 2 blade Hartzell back into calander, which surprised me a little, given the prop was completely servicable when put into storage....
Why does it all have to be so expensive...

Battson wrote:Why does it all have to be so expensive...

Because we're crazy (daft), and crazy people can't be trusted with money, and somebody told the bad guys that. Or so the voices say.

EB

Normal annual inspection, dressing and lube if it is Hartzell, less than 30 mins. McCauley is oil lubed. Spinner has to come off for inspection either way. May need to add spinner shims.
If it is ancient, needs a re-seal, or internal inspection and rebuild, can be expensive.

Depending on the age, if it's a Hartzell, it may cost a lot, due to hub replacement, based on AD notes. A "normal" annual inspection, as Jeremy indicates, is no big deal at all on these props.

Even if it's been stored for a long time, assuming it complies with all the Hartzell ADs, it shouldn't cost much at all to get back in service.

MTV

maules.com wrote:If it is ancient, needs a re-seal, or internal inspection and rebuild, can be expensive.

Sent a McCauley prop off a M5-210C in for overhaul last month. Useable but obsolete on Mac's chart.

Was spraying oil on the windscreen in flight. It was last overhauled in 1993, 1700 hours ago. Time to bite the bullet. Quote $2600 for full overhaul. Ouch.

Blades passed, hub passed. Other internal parts junk, some needed to be fabricated. Overhauled, tested, painted looks brand new.

$4829.00

What Jeremy said.

I just re-read your post, and now realize you're concerned about the overhaul status of the prop, as in "getting it back into calendar". In that case, you'll have to ship it off to a prop shop, and yes it's most likely to cost you a few thousand at a minimum.

Bear in mind that under Part 91 operations, propeller TBO is not a required compliance item. You can run a prop that is beyond the calendar limits for tbo (or the time limits for that matter) as long as the prop is functioning well.

If you're going to operate for hire, you MAY have to keep the prop and all other time limited components current.

If you send a Hartzell prop in for overhaul, it's pretty likely that you'll be buying a hub as well, though, and when that dust all settles, you're probably looking at $6000 plus. Unless you get lucky and have a fairly late model hub.

First, check the ADs and see if any of them apply to your prop. That will pretty much tell you what you need to do.

MTV

Thanks for all that information guys, that is exactly what I was after. Perfect.

Sounds like I should be looking to buy a MacCauley.... these Hartzell ADs sound vicious....
WISH we could afford the MT.

Hey Battson! Assume you're in New Zealand? NZ Part 91 ops require a calendar inspection each 5 years in lieu of the manufacturers 6 year overhaul. Look for AC43-5 on the CAA website, this AC allows on-condition maintenance for engines and props past their TBO and used on private ops only. Expect to pay around $1,200 to $1,400 for a prop calendar inspection assuming it's otherwise serviceable, plus about 3 hours labour to remove, pack, freight, refit and certify. Scheduled maintenance is negligible really, although most hartzells need greasing, no more than 30 minutes tops

Well, not all peaches and cream with MacCauleys either. We tend to see as many MacCauleys get beyond economic repair status on overhauls as Hartzells get nailed by AD's. Many Hartzells have already gone through the AD and have new hubs. Lots of MacCauleys out there with corrosion under the clamps. Hartzells at least get greased, or should be. This is based on our tiny 200+ prop overhauls a year at the repair station. There are a bunch of two blade MacCauley AD's that condemn hubs as well and they DO crack, I have seen it myself.

We just got in a Pilatus PC-12 in for a bird strike, kind of in-between large tweety and vulture, not much left of it. It got sliced by the prop and hit the fuselage just below the windshield, mushed and penetrated the pressure vessel a bit. Juicy repair, $300K. We insisted on having the prop town down, with no visible sign of damage to it. Well, 4" crack on the blade retention clamp, only visible with dye penetrant. Props fail and the result is not pretty. It really the item you least need to cheap out on. BTW, the unexpected prop feather on the Caravan that happened to me last week after takeoff was not the governor, overspeed governor, or prop but the prop sleeve in the gearbox (10 hours since overhaul) rotated and bent the oil transfer tubes that supply the oil to the prop, effectively turning me into a glider. One or two minutes more, it would have been statistics. Engine was running sweet, just no thrust.

I can't really afford to fly...which is why I have a Tri-Pacer...

I sometimes dream about something a little more capable, but I seriously doubt at this point that I will invest in anything that has a C/S prop. I'd love to have 1st through 5th gears instead of being stuck in 3rd all the time, but the dollars just aren't there for another potential expensive overhaul item...

So I fly my little bird and dream sometimes of bigger ones...

Troy Hamon wrote:I sometimes dream about something a little more capable, but I seriously doubt at this point that I will invest in anything that has a C/S prop. I'd love to have 1st through 5th gears instead of being stuck in 3rd all the time.

Amen, and it's even worse going backwards by downsizing to a fixed-pitch. Ya get spoiled setting prop speed and then not worrying about it as you go chase shit.

Gump

While on the topic of FP props, has anyone seen them approved on 180 or 220 Franklins?