RV200 spinner back plate broke

[jask]

The spinner back plate is two piece made of stainless. One piece is cracked in multiple spots and the other piece is also cracked. The pieces fit under the propeller nuts that hold the prop on. Each piece has a semi circle of holes that fasten the formed fiberglass adapters that also fasten to the spinner. Both stainless pieces are broken in half. One is still fastened tight with the propeller bolts. The other piece also cracked at the two remaining propeller mounting holes. That fragment of the second back plate was then only fastened by the bolts to the fiberglass adapter plate.

The propeller has been discontinued and I will probably not be able to buy the pieces. I will call them tomorrow and also the former owner in El Cajon. I have several questions. I have owned the aircraft for three years and did a prop balance when I first got it. I used two weights of about 18 grams each on the Lycoming flywheel at 30 deg spacing. Why did they crack? The pieces have rounded corners but all edges are sharp. It is like these pieces were punched from a stainless sheet. One A&P has suggested that I will probably have to get the pieces fabricated. What grade stainless should I use? They need to be able to withstand the vibrations of the prop and yet not crack. The aircraft has less that 300 hours. Both pieces are cracked which means all of these props have problems.

 

[jask]

The spinner back plate is two piece made of stainless. One piece is cracked in multiple spots and the other piece is also cracked. The pieces fit under the propeller nuts that hold the prop on. Each piece has a semi circle of holes that fasten the formed fiberglass adapters that also fasten to the spinner. Both stainless pieces are broken in half. One is still fastened tight with the propeller bolts. The other piece also cracked at the two remaining propeller mounting holes. That fragment of the second back plate was then only fastened by the bolts to the fiberglass adapter plate.

The propeller has been discontinued and I will probably not be able to buy the pieces. I will call them tomorrow and also the former owner in El Cajon. I have several questions. I have owned the aircraft for three years and did a prop balance when I first got it. I used two weights of about 18 grams each on the Lycoming flywheel at 30 deg spacing. Why did they crack? The pieces have rounded corners but all edges are sharp. It is like these pieces were punched from a stainless sheet. One A&P has suggested that I will probably have to get the pieces fabricated. What grade stainless should I use? They need to be able to withstand the vibrations of the prop and yet not crack. The aircraft has less that 300 hours. Both pieces are cracked which means all of these props have problems.

 

[jask]

I think this is a serious problem for all owners using the whirlwind RV200 propeller. I have removed the spinner 4 times since I owned the aircraft. These are hairline cracks across the back plate and difficult to see. Most of us are older with not so great near vision. I am almost certain the cracks were present each time I removed the spinner.

I think this warrants all owners of the RV200 to remove the spinner and closely check for cracking.of the back plates.

 

[jask]

I think this is a serious problem for all owners using the whirlwind RV200 propeller. I have removed the spinner 4 times since I owned the aircraft. These are hairline cracks across the back plate and difficult to see. Most of us are older with not so great near vision. I am almost certain the cracks were present each time I removed the spinner.

I think this warrants all owners of the RV200 to remove the spinner and closely check for cracking.of the back plates.

I am asking for solutions for my problem. Even if these parts were available, exact replacement nay not be a good idea.

 

[jask]

I think this is a serious problem for all owners using the whirlwind RV200 propeller. I have removed the spinner 4 times since I owned the aircraft. These are hairline cracks across the back plate and difficult to see. Most of us are older with not so great near vision. I am almost certain the cracks were present each time I removed the spinner.

I think this warrants all owners of the RV200 to remove the spinner and closely check for cracking.of the back plates.

I am asking for solutions for my problem. Even if these parts were available, exact replacement nay not be a good idea.

Additional testing shows the stainless is the less expensive 300 series .062 stainless. The most common grade.

 

[Ironflight]

Is that really Stainless? I have owned four WW’s (but not a 200), and all of their spinner backplates were either aluminum or composite. 0.062 sounds thick for stainless to me….but like I said - I haven’t had a WW-200.

 

[Tim 8-A]

I just went through this very issue. It’s the mounting plates that are broken. The spinner back plate is what mounts to the brackets and the spinner mounts to it. There is a shop that had all the parts you need and I think it’s JD Propeller. I know if you call Hartzell (now owns WW) and talk to Tech Support they have his contact info. You might have an older split style back plate that doesn’t overlap and bolt together, I think that’s what lead to the brackets breaking. My new back plate bolts together making for a much stronger application. I’ll attach pics of my new spinner back plate.

 

[Tandem46]

This problem was very well known and addressed years ago, as in circa 2006. As Tim mentioned, those are mounting brackets, not the spinner back plate. And as Tim mentioned, it was the back plate halves flexing that was causing the brackets to crack. I changed out those brackets probably at least three times between 2004-2006 on my 200RV before Jim came up with a fix. He bonded carbon fiber tabs onto the halves allowing the halves to be bolted together with AN3 bolts (see Tim’s middle photo) and thus immobilize the halves from flexing. With this mod, I flew my 200RV from 2006 to 2023 without anymore cracked brackets. In 2023 switched to the 300.

 

[WhirlWind Propellers]

This spinner bracket is a McCualey part. PN# C5046/2. It is available from any McCualey service center.

 

[jask]

This problem was very well known and addressed years ago, as in circa 2006. As Tim mentioned, those are mounting brackets, not the spinner back plate. And as Tim mentioned, it was the back plate halves flexing that was causing the brackets to crack. I changed out those brackets probably at least three times between 2004-2006 on my 200RV before Jim came up with a fix. He bonded carbon fiber tabs onto the halves allowing the halves to be bolted together with AN3 bolts (see Tim’s middle photo) and thus immobilize the halves from flexing. With this mod, I flew my 200RV from 2006 to 2023 without anymore cracked brackets. In 2023 switched to the 300.

Thanks for all the information

I have called several. The most unhelpful was Hartzell in Ohio. Jdw propeller won’t even answer the phone. One half of the fiberglass backplate is damaged but I may be able to repair it and modify it to be bolted together. The brackets I can fabricate but I will make them from material that will be less prone to work hardening. It would be helpful to have an accurate drawing.
It is sad that my aircraft was assembled with a known problem.

 

[jask]

Thanks for all the information

I have called several. The most unhelpful was Hartzell in Ohio. Jdw propeller won’t even answer the phone. One half of the fiberglass backplate is damaged but I may be able to repair it and modify it to be bolted together. The brackets I can fabricate but I will make them from material that will be less prone to work hardening. It would be helpful to have an accurate drawing.
It is sad that my aircraft was assembled with a known problem.

The rackets that are cracked/broken are actually a McCauley propeller part C504-6/2. When JimRust designed the propeller, he used the McCauley hub. The prop shop where I got that info said the brackets are used on a C-182 and they crack like crazy. The certified world is truly crazy. They don’t fix the problem, they just continue to replace parts. The cracking could probably be solved by just changing to an alloy that is less likely to work harden with vibration. I tested the broken piece and it is highly magnetic and produces orange sparks when touched with a grinder. That puts it in the 300 class stainless which have nickel and work harden until it cracks. Probably switch alloys to 416 with no nickel.
I still need the two piece circular back plate.

 

[Tim 8-A]

The rackets that are cracked/broken are actually a McCauley propeller part C504-6/2. When JimRust designed the propeller, he used the McCauley hub. The prop shop where I got that info said the brackets are used on a C-182 and they crack like crazy. The certified world is truly crazy. They don’t fix the problem, they just continue to replace parts. The cracking could probably be solved by just changing to an alloy that is less likely to work harden with vibration. I tested the broken piece and it is highly magnetic and produces orange sparks when touched with a grinder. That puts it in the 300 class stainless which have nickel and work harden until it cracks. Probably switch alloys to 416 with no nickel.
I still need the two piece circular back plate.

I have my only spinner and back plate, a small amount of damage on one corner of one half but nothing that cant be fixed. Only issue is I don't want to split up the spinner from back plate.

 

[B Cunningham]

I had this issue exactly on my early 2007 200 RV. Whirlwind sent me an entire new spinner and backplate for free with the updated design. That was around 2015 or so…

 

[jask]

I have my only spinner and back plate, a small amount of damage on one corner of one half but nothing that cant be fixed. Only issue is I don't want to split up the spinner from back plate.

I am interested in the spinner andbackplate.

 

[jask]

This problem was very well known and addressed years ago, as in circa 2006. As Tim mentioned, those are mounting brackets, not the spinner back plate. And as Tim mentioned, it was the back plate halves flexing that was causing the brackets to crack. I changed out those brackets probably at least three times between 2004-2006 on my 200RV before Jim came up with a fix. He bonded carbon fiber tabs onto the halves allowing the halves to be bolted together with AN3 bolts (see Tim’s middle photo) and thus immobilize the halves from flexing. With this mod, I flew my 200RV from 2006 to 2023 without anymore cracked brackets. In 2023 switched to the 300.

I disagree that the backplate was causing the problem. I think that bolting the backplate together calmed the vibrations in the brackets.

I am interested in the spinner andbackplate.

im no longer interested in the backplate. It is the old style that isn’t bolted together.

 

[jask]

I disagree that the backplate was causing the problem. I think that bolting the backplate together calmed the vibrations in the brackets.

im no longer interested in the backplate. It is the old style that isn’t bolted together.

Update:

A month ago, I was proud to have a whirlwind prop on our aircraft. As of now, certainly not so much. When Hartzell purchased whirlwind, all support for the older products ended. Jdw propeller wants $650 plus shipping for the backplate. Just a few years ago whirlwind was still supporting the defective parts with a free exchange. I didn’t buy a RV6 to be ripped off by a propeller shop at certified prices.

 

[Tandem46]

I disagree that the backplate was causing the problem. I think that bolting the backplate together calmed the vibrations in the brackets.

Well, the owner/designer Jim Rust would disagree. Again, the fact that the two halves were flexing and thus putting stress on the brackets is what was causing the brackets to crack. Jim is the one that came out and said this was what was happening. I had my brackets crack at least three times in a two-year period… And then with the modification that joined the two spinner back plates together I flew an additional 17 years with ZERO cracks.

 

[Tandem46]

Update:
Jdw propeller wants $650 plus shipping for the backplate. Just a few years ago whirlwind was still supporting the defective parts with a free exchange.

One other thing… You don’t need to buy a new backplate. I still have my original spinner/backplate. The only modification was to bond two little tabs 180° out from each other onto the back plates in order to bolt them together with AN3 bolts. You can do that in about one hour. You need some fiberglass and some west systems epoxy.

 

[jask]

I disagree that the backplate was causing the problem. I think that bolting the backplate together calmed the vibrations in the brackets.

im no longer interested in the backplate. It is the old style that isn’t bolted together.

Update:

A month ago, I was proud to have a whirlwind prop on our aircraft. As of now, certainly not so much. When Hartzell purchased whirlwind, all support for the older products ended. Jdw propeller wants $650 plus shipping for the backplate. Just a few years ago whirlwind was still supporting the defective parts with a free exchange. I didn’t buy a RV6 to be ripped off by a propeller shop at certified prices

One other thing… You don’t need to buy a new backplate. I still have my original spinner/backplate. The only modification was to bond two little tabs 180° out from each other onto the back plates in order to bolt them together with AN3 bolts. You can do that in about one hour. You need some fiberglass and some west systems epoxy.

 

[jask]

That is exactly what I plan to do. Even if a new one is purchased, it has to be matched drilled to the spinner and nutplates installed. My backplate is in decent shape and it is easier to bond the pieces with tabs. I am also going to put a metal strap across the ends of the brackets. When the spinner was installed, the builder put the gap in the backplates adjacent to the gap between the brackets. It would have been better if it was offset.
Thanks for the suggestion, they are much appreciated.

 

[Tandem46]

Here’s the tabs on mine. I believe the tabs are carbon fiber, but fiberglass will work too.

 

[jask]

View attachment 79187View attachment 79188View attachment 79189
Here’s the tabs on mine. I believe the tabs are carbon fiber, but fiberglass will work too.

Those photos are extremely helpful.

 

[Tandem46]

Jim, zoom in, you can see the “straps”. Those weren’t temporary in my case… I flew with those straps the whole time.