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Reversed Prop control

Nouj

Member
I have fitted my prop control to my Woodward governor as per the Vans Firewall forward plans. Unfortunately the controller works in the reverse sense. Is it possible to clock my woodward governor bell crank, spring and rear housing thru 120 degrees by undoing the screws at the rear of the housing and repositioning the rear assembly so that the actuating arm will operate in the reverse sense thus allowing proper operation ie full forward to fine back to coarse. If I undo the rear housing will I be presented with all the internal items of the governor at speed and in a random manner! as I often find reassembly after such events impossible. I really dont want to buy a new governor because this one works in the reverse sense in this particular installation.
 
I'm not sure if we have the same governor but this question seems to pop up a lot. When I installed mine, I stared at the drawing that accompanied it from Vans. The drawing was very detailed but didn't match what mine looked like. An A&P said that removing the safety wire and loosening the screws should probably allow me to rotate the governor but he couldn't say for sure. I was on the verge of calling Vans when a breeze blew the sheet over and there was the drawing of my governor. Sure enough, that was how to fix it. There's another thread in the queue today that talks about the same thing and has a link to a builder's site with photos of the process. Assuming we have the same governor, that should solve your problem.
 
Nouj,

You are not so far from me (26 miles if you are who I think you are - very slow rolls in a Bulldog c2006 at UH?) - I have a bunch of photos on my computer at home I could forward (not immediately accessible), or else if you want to come and look PM me for phone no and post code. I have an MT governer on a Superior IO360, but this thread - http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=18363&highlight=woodward+governor - sounds like it is a very similar system

http://www.gapilot.co.uk/build/2005/dec05/11dec05.htm has some pictures.

As Flion says, you need to cut the safety wires, loosen (not remove) the six (I think it was) bolts, and clock the governor to the correct position.

Cheers

Chris
 
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I believe (not positive) that there is no problem loosening the screws and reclocking the arm, but DON'T loosen them all the way out, just enough to rotate the head.
 
Problem Solved

The Woodward I had (D210472) was an oil pressure to decrease pitch governor which is wrong for my Hartzell C2YR-1BFP. So thats up for sale to someone who has an aerobatic prop or a Hartzell with a -4 in its type designation. I bought a MT 860-4 Governor from Vans on the Monday and was testing it on the aircraft here in UK on the Friday, it works a treat no problems.

In an effort to dispel fairy tales on a woodward you can remove all 6 screws and you can even have a peak inside should you wish, just be careful not to tear the gasket.

Any Hartzell that has a -1 in the designation requires a governor that requires oil pressure to increase pitch: eg C2YR-(1)
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Any Hartzell that has a -4 in the designation requires a governor that requires oil pressure to decrease pitch: eg C2YK-(4).

Its been expensive but I am glad that all is well. Hope this is useful
 
Same governor, different solution

I was in a similar situation. I purchased a used engine with all accessories, including the governor. Imagine my surprise at first engine start! :)

I took the governor to Byam Propellor in Ft. Worth. For $300 (or so) they replaced the pilot valve and converted it to normal operation. They guy also did a complete inspection, reseal and test of the unit. It's no longer a "certified" governor, but it works just fine.


I called Woodward directly and asked how to accomplish this. The fellow there was very nice, faxed me technical documentation and even gave me the part number I needed to do the swap

I'm just too cheap to pop for a new governor. :)

YMMV
 
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