gmcjetpilot
Well Known Member
I called Hartzell today (Les please chime in if I am wrong) and had a chat with them. Well first I was bummed but it's not as bad as I thought.
AD 2006-18-15 was just released as you know for prop hubs that have no letter or suffix after the serial number. The AD calls for an eddy current service bulletin (2005) to check of the hub every 100 hours. The GOOD NEWS, if you can call it that is it can be done on the plane and cost, as I was told, about $100. So that is about every year you need to do this, per the AD. Since you need to remove the spinner to lube the prop it is not too bad.
The history on the HC-C2YK is it has been around for a while. Also it has been used on every things from 180 HP Mooney's to +300HP agricultural planes. The basic hub has gone thru several changes over the years.
For detailed info see SB 61-277 below.
If you have a HC-C2YK-1BF or "B" hub you are home free.
If you have the "A" hub you are not out of the woods and the AD calls for eventual replacement depending on application.
The older basic hub was made thru '91, with one change significant change post '83. So if you have a hub with no letter suffix, A or B, it was made before Dec 1991. "A" hubs where made from Dec '91 to April '97. The "B" after April '97. So not all HC-C2YK's are the same and many changes have been made. The service bulletin for help in identification the hub type you have.
The newest hub, the "B" hub is really like a new model and has the number HC-C2YK-1BF verses a straight HC-C2YK. The AD does not affect the "B" model. (Is that correct Les?) The "A" hub is affected by another AD, for high HP, ag and aerobatics applications.
The side info I got was an Aerospatiale Socata Tobago suffered a hub failure (w/ 360 lyc). Also there have been about a dozen cracks found during inspections or overhaul in the field on 360's. Considering there are a lot of these props around, over 3 decades, it's not wide spread. Clearly service age/time, model and type of operation is key to the likely hood of getting a crack or not.
I guess the silver lining is if you get your Prop overhauled at Hartzell they will trade the hub out for the "B" hub. I was told they want to get the old old props out of service, so they will sell you a half price hub or a new prop for $5400. For us that is not super great with a BA just a little more. I suppose it's more cost effective for RV'ers to sell or scrap their old HC-C2YK prop and buy a new BA prop?
At least with experimental's we can keep flying, but the Arrow and Mooney drivers have no choice. Going to the "B" hub or BA prop makes sense especially since it eliminates all AD's. On the other hand $100 every year or so is not horrible.
There is also hour and calendar limits in the 2001-23-08 AD for mandatory replacement 300HP or applications for "A" and non-suffix hubs. The time limit is 1000 hours/72 months (aerobatic), 2000 hours/72 months max. I do not believe that AD 2006-18-15 has a replacement service life time limit? (Les?)
Ref:
AD2006-18-15 (latest affecting all non-suffix props)
AD2001-23-08 (engine 300hp or more)
HC-SB-61-269 (Eddy current)
SB-61-277 (Detailed INFO on applications, cost and background info)
To recap if you don't have a "B" hub you need to do eddy current inspections every 100 hours (after the initial inspection) or replace the hub with a "B" hub. As long as you do 100 inspections you can keep going indefinitely.
AD 2006-18-15 was just released as you know for prop hubs that have no letter or suffix after the serial number. The AD calls for an eddy current service bulletin (2005) to check of the hub every 100 hours. The GOOD NEWS, if you can call it that is it can be done on the plane and cost, as I was told, about $100. So that is about every year you need to do this, per the AD. Since you need to remove the spinner to lube the prop it is not too bad.
The history on the HC-C2YK is it has been around for a while. Also it has been used on every things from 180 HP Mooney's to +300HP agricultural planes. The basic hub has gone thru several changes over the years.
For detailed info see SB 61-277 below.
If you have a HC-C2YK-1BF or "B" hub you are home free.
If you have the "A" hub you are not out of the woods and the AD calls for eventual replacement depending on application.
The older basic hub was made thru '91, with one change significant change post '83. So if you have a hub with no letter suffix, A or B, it was made before Dec 1991. "A" hubs where made from Dec '91 to April '97. The "B" after April '97. So not all HC-C2YK's are the same and many changes have been made. The service bulletin for help in identification the hub type you have.
The newest hub, the "B" hub is really like a new model and has the number HC-C2YK-1BF verses a straight HC-C2YK. The AD does not affect the "B" model. (Is that correct Les?) The "A" hub is affected by another AD, for high HP, ag and aerobatics applications.
The side info I got was an Aerospatiale Socata Tobago suffered a hub failure (w/ 360 lyc). Also there have been about a dozen cracks found during inspections or overhaul in the field on 360's. Considering there are a lot of these props around, over 3 decades, it's not wide spread. Clearly service age/time, model and type of operation is key to the likely hood of getting a crack or not.
I guess the silver lining is if you get your Prop overhauled at Hartzell they will trade the hub out for the "B" hub. I was told they want to get the old old props out of service, so they will sell you a half price hub or a new prop for $5400. For us that is not super great with a BA just a little more. I suppose it's more cost effective for RV'ers to sell or scrap their old HC-C2YK prop and buy a new BA prop?
At least with experimental's we can keep flying, but the Arrow and Mooney drivers have no choice. Going to the "B" hub or BA prop makes sense especially since it eliminates all AD's. On the other hand $100 every year or so is not horrible.
There is also hour and calendar limits in the 2001-23-08 AD for mandatory replacement 300HP or applications for "A" and non-suffix hubs. The time limit is 1000 hours/72 months (aerobatic), 2000 hours/72 months max. I do not believe that AD 2006-18-15 has a replacement service life time limit? (Les?)
Ref:
AD2006-18-15 (latest affecting all non-suffix props)
AD2001-23-08 (engine 300hp or more)
HC-SB-61-269 (Eddy current)
SB-61-277 (Detailed INFO on applications, cost and background info)
To recap if you don't have a "B" hub you need to do eddy current inspections every 100 hours (after the initial inspection) or replace the hub with a "B" hub. As long as you do 100 inspections you can keep going indefinitely.
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