Feedback on the new G hub Hartzell Composite Propeller

[Ted RV8]

Last year, some piece of **** in the hangar I was sharing with two other airplanes, pushed a Cessna 182 into my airplane. The elevator of the 182 hit my AeroComposite Prop. Worst part is nobody came forward to say they did it. Could see the damage on the 182 elevator that matched the nick in my prop but no one came forward All Cessna owners, no RV owners involved other then me and I was on the receiving end of it. Needless to say I'm no longer involved in this hangar

Tried to get it repaired but ended up worse and not repairable. AeroComposite no longer supports these props as their main focus is military contracts. Good for them, sucks for anyone who owns an AeroComposite propeller.

Ordered a new Hartzell Composite Propeller from Van's. This was right in the middle of the transition to the G hub model for better cowl clearance.

Many thanks go out the Mike Stewart from Team AeroDynamix formation team. They were very involved with Hartzell on the development of the G hub model. Mike offered great advise regarding the prop and its performance. His input greatly influenced my decision to buy the Hartzell. Thanks again Mike!

My plane is an RV8 with an IO360-M1B and has always been a great performing airplane with the AeroComposite prop. I don't have hard numbers but can tell you this. My airplane has never pushed me back in the seat on roll out like it does now. Take off distance much shorter. Full throttle on roll out immediately lifts the tail. Climb is increased alot. Cruise speed is increased also. Top speed might be off 2-3 mph. The top speed loss could be due to the extra clearance on the spinner as my previous one was a custom fit to the old prop and cowl. All around I love the prop!

Anyone considering buying one of these will not be disappointed with the performance. It looks outstanding and the longer polished aluminum spinner gives the airplane an even better look then before.

[ronschreck]

Ted,

I am pleased to hear of your good experience with the new Hartzell G-hub. Team AeroDynamix is converting all of our Hartzell composite propellers to the G-hub and I made the conversion to my RV-8 last week. I had the opportunity to put the hub through it's paces last Saturday as we held the first Team practice of 2014. Of course the cowl clearance is no longer an issue and I agree that the longer spinner looks even better. With full propeller pitch authority now available I found that I can cruise at very low RPM if I like and descents at any speed are done without any RPM increase. I put the prop through a full range of aerobatics, including loops rolls, spins, hammerheads and snap rolls and found the prop performs superbly in all regions of the flight envelope. Hartzell has a winner here!

[Kahuna]

Outstanding report Ted. For those looking for the thread on the G hub discussion you can find it here.

A lot of effort on everyone's part, most especially the great team at Hartzell, getting this prop to market with wonderful results. Going from testing, to validation, to market, to Teds smile is no small task. And it gives everyone involved great satisfaction.