I'm having two problems with my Whirlwind 151 propeller. One is that it is leaking oil at the blade root and the second is one blade is slightly loose. I'm running the prop on a Mattituck O360 A1A with two slick mags.
About two years ago the piston inside the hub failed and dumped the majority of the engine oil through the hub and out the blades. The emergency landing and aftermath can be read here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/whirlwindpropellers/message/588
After the repair we've always had a small amount of leakage of oil, but nothing like we are seeing now.
This picture was taken just after shutdown on a 40 minute flight.
A close up of the blade/ferrule intersection
These blades were upgraded to the 151H about 180 hours ago along with a complete propeller overhaul.
There are no of oil in the hub, everything looks clean.
Close up of blade ferrule in hub
These pictures and a few more can be seen in the album:
https://plus.google.com/photos/111558197259965643802/albums/5837862407324264465
The second issue is one blade is slightly loose. When shaken at the tip the blade/ferrule moves about .25", double the Whirlwind allowable movement of 1/8". The movement is between the blade/ferrule assembly and the hub, there is no movement of the blade relative to the ferrule. I'm trying to understand what is allowing this movement and whether or not it is a serious problem. From what I understand of the design of the prop the only way the blade/ferrule can move relative to the hub is if the shim under the snap ring is loose, or if there has been damage to the bearing races.
I have been in contact with Jeremy at Whirlwind and their opinion is I should sent the prop back for inspection and overhaul. I appreciate that they can't really troubleshoot these issues with a few pictures and they are taking the conservative approach. However, the prop is only about 1/2 way to the recommended OH time of 350 hours. On the yahoo forum I've read about people fixing loosed blades by replacing the shims under the snap ring which holds the blade to the hub.
So my question for the VAF brain trust, what do you guys think? Do I have a major problem which justifies pulling the prop from the plane and shipping it back to Ohio for a repair, or is this just an annoying nit that is part of life with this prop? I definitely want to be safe and would not compromise safety for saving a few bucks, but I don't want to take my plane down for a month and spend a pile of cash if I don't have to.
Thanks for taking the time to read this, I'm looking forward to reading your thoughts.
About two years ago the piston inside the hub failed and dumped the majority of the engine oil through the hub and out the blades. The emergency landing and aftermath can be read here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/whirlwindpropellers/message/588
After the repair we've always had a small amount of leakage of oil, but nothing like we are seeing now.
This picture was taken just after shutdown on a 40 minute flight.
A close up of the blade/ferrule intersection
These blades were upgraded to the 151H about 180 hours ago along with a complete propeller overhaul.
There are no of oil in the hub, everything looks clean.
Close up of blade ferrule in hub
These pictures and a few more can be seen in the album:
https://plus.google.com/photos/111558197259965643802/albums/5837862407324264465
The second issue is one blade is slightly loose. When shaken at the tip the blade/ferrule moves about .25", double the Whirlwind allowable movement of 1/8". The movement is between the blade/ferrule assembly and the hub, there is no movement of the blade relative to the ferrule. I'm trying to understand what is allowing this movement and whether or not it is a serious problem. From what I understand of the design of the prop the only way the blade/ferrule can move relative to the hub is if the shim under the snap ring is loose, or if there has been damage to the bearing races.
I have been in contact with Jeremy at Whirlwind and their opinion is I should sent the prop back for inspection and overhaul. I appreciate that they can't really troubleshoot these issues with a few pictures and they are taking the conservative approach. However, the prop is only about 1/2 way to the recommended OH time of 350 hours. On the yahoo forum I've read about people fixing loosed blades by replacing the shims under the snap ring which holds the blade to the hub.
So my question for the VAF brain trust, what do you guys think? Do I have a major problem which justifies pulling the prop from the plane and shipping it back to Ohio for a repair, or is this just an annoying nit that is part of life with this prop? I definitely want to be safe and would not compromise safety for saving a few bucks, but I don't want to take my plane down for a month and spend a pile of cash if I don't have to.
Thanks for taking the time to read this, I'm looking forward to reading your thoughts.
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