Today's Message Index:
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1. 07:03 AM - Awesome Missouri flyin this weekend (Frazier, Vincent A)
2. 08:57 AM - Hartzell service and trip report (long) (Frazier, Vincent A)
Message 1
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| Subject: | Awesome Missouri flyin this weekend |
--> Rocket-List message posted by: "Frazier, Vincent A" <VFrazier@usi.edu>
"Flash"!
THIRD ANNUAL REBEL'S BLUFF FLYIN Now that Sun n Fun is over, it's time
to fly to the Third Annual Rebel's Bluff FlyIn for Rocket's and Van's RV
Aircraft on May 7th, 2005. Come in about 10:00AM for an Ozarks Style
Bar-B-Que lunch with all the fixin's (catered by the First Baptist
Ladies Group), and some great comaradrie.
Rebel's Bluff (N37 06.1 W93 52.2) is located two miles north of Mt
Vernon Municipal Airport (2MO), and just west of Mt Vernon, Missouri.
About 150 miles SSE of Kansas City, MO, and 140 east of Tulsa, OK. The
runway 14/32 is 2,200' of very smooth sod by 60' wide. Use 122.9 (Mt
Vernon's) UNICOM frequency and announce "landing at Rebel's Bluff." AV
Gas 100LL will be available for approximately $2.50/gallon.
Rain date is May 14th if it is a complete washout. RSVP would be greatly
appreciated to your host Les Featherston at lwfeatherston@aol.com or
call 417-466-4663 at home, or 417-425-3595 cell.
Overnighters can stay at the Super 8 for $53, or camping by the creek
(with flush toilet) is available. Looking forward to seeing all of you
again. Les
************************************************************************
Les has a gorgeous Harmon. Pics on my pireps page if you're interested.
http://www.usi.edu/science/chemistry/vfrazier/Pilot%20reports.html I
plan to go to the flyin. I've been to Les's flyin previously and it was
very nice. If anyone wants more info and can't reach Les, feel free to
call me... 812-464-1839 M-F Vince
Message 2
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| Subject: | Hartzell service and trip report (long) |
--> Rocket-List message posted by: "Frazier, Vincent A" <VFrazier@usi.edu>
> Guys,
>
> I just returned from Piqua, OH, home of Hartzell Propeller. It was a
> fabulous trip. No, I don't get anything to say this stuff.... to say
> that I was impressed would be a gross understatement.
>
> A little background first, I bought a new Hartzell two blade from Mark
> for my bird. Oddly, after 22 hours it developed a minor grease leak.
> Since it was still leaking 10 hours later, I thought I should check on
> it.
>
> I called Hartzell and they said "Bring it over and we'll fix it." No
> hassles, no grilling questions, no evading, no delays. They were very
> accommodating of my schedule even though I told them that it was not
> an emergency since I fly for fun and have no set schedule.
>
> I asked if we (John Crabtree went with me) could see the repair
> process since we were curious (clueless, really) about what is inside
> of one of these props. Not only did we get to see the overhaul
> facility, we got a tour of the manufacturing facility too. More about
> those later.
>
> I also wanted to get a dynamic balancing while I was there. WOW!
> Does that make a huge difference! I didn't think my vibration level
> was bad, but now it is very smooth. To say that I am pleased would
> also be a gross understatement. It's worth every penny of the
> approximately $180 cost.... chump change in aviation dollars. HIGHLY
> RECOMMENDED regardless of what you're swinging up front.
>
> John and I had arranged to arrive on Sunday morning. Even though
> those are not regular business hours, there were several people
> around. We were greeted like we were the most important people on
> earth, not like we were interrupting their weekend... which we were!
> After we put the planes in the Hartzell hangar, John and I hopped in
> the airport car and spent the rest of the day at the Wright-Patterson
> AF museum. WPAFM is a great museum. And it's free! Where else does
> the government give you anything worthwhile for FREE?
>
> The next morning we arrived back at the Hartzell hangar. My prop was
> already well along in the repair process so after checking on it, we
> hopped back into the company car and went to see one of the four
> Hartzell facilities in Piqua. We went to the facility that
> manufactures metal props. On the way to the facility, I got into the
> wrong lane, a turn lane. A Hartzell employee on her way to work
> spotted the airport car and knowing where we were supposed to be
> going, motioned for us to follow her. Now, that's customer service!
>
> We arrived at the metal prop production facility, a state of the art
> operation to say the least, and met John Popel, a tech rep. John gave
> us some safety glasses and off we went. We saw everything. It was
> amazing. It's simply beyond my ability to type it all. If you are
> impressed by industrial equipment and appreciate the art that goes
> into producing a product, this is a must-see facility. John Popel had
> an amazing grasp of the minutest details and you could tell he is the
> kind of guy who is excited to go to work every day. John said that
> cameras were allowed in almost all areas... and wouldn't you know it,
> I didn't bring one along!! DOH! John said that a facility tour can
> be arranged for small groups easily. This would make a stupendous EAA
> chapter event. I learned more about props in 2 hours than I have in
> the last 20 years.
>
> While at the production facility, we also got to talk to Les Doud, a
> propeller integration engineer. Les also was a wealth of useful
> information. John and I asked him 500 questions. I asked if Hartzell
> had a job opening for me. LOL.
>
> Les explained to us what to look for in a prop, what was good, and
> what was bad. We tried to get some info on what products were in the
> pipeline and told them that we wanted a 25# prop with better
> performance... and it needed to cost less than $1000... and last
> forever. Les and John had every reason to whack us on the head, but
> instead simply said that they were working on it. LOL! Seriously,
> after seeing the effort that they put into their prop design,
> production, and service I almost felt guilty for paying as little as I
> did for mine.
>
> Crabtree and I headed back to the airport to see how my grease leak
> repair was coming along. When we arrived my prop was being rolled out
> to the Rocket. We inquired what, if any, problems were found.
> Everything looked OK was the reply. Mark, the lead mechanic,
> explained that occasionally a grease zerk check ball will dribble a
> little bit, or some of the petroleum distillates will escape from the
> grease with weather changes, age, etc., or it might have simply had a
> bit of stray grease get past the O-ring. I was happy to hear that
> nothing was wrong. It's very comforting to have THE experts look over
> your installation and say "Looks fine."
>
> While Mark was putting the prop back on the Rocket, John and I took
> the full tour of the overhaul facility. Steve Reindel showed us
> around the overhaul shop, which was a miniaturized version of the
> factory, with many of the same capabilities. Steve explained that
> Hartzell had overhauled their overhaul procedures, so to speak, so
> that they could beat the overhaul business competition is all
> categories: price, quality, and turnaround time. Seeing as how they
> got my prop in and turned around in just a few hours... I believe him!
> Although my prop was covered under warranty, the price Steve said I
> would have paid otherwise was quite reasonable... on the order of a
> few hundred dollars for the entire inspection, repair, and
> reinstallation. Wow!
>
> In summary:
> 1) Hartzell service rocks! (No, they didn't pay, coerce, or bribe me
> to say it.)
> 2) My teeny-weeny problem was given more attention than Air Force One
> probably gets.
> 3) Hartzell gives a great tour. Unbelievably informative. Highly
> recommended.
> 4) The cost was minimal. In airplane dollars, it was chump change for
> the entire trip.
> 5) My prop was inspected and installed by experts.... Priceless.
>
> Other trivia:
> 6) Never put more than 6 pumps of grease (1 ounce) into your prop
> during service, usually at annual. Use the proper grease. Make sure
> you take the opposite zerk out so you don't push grease past the seal.
> I didn't do any of these things since I haven't had to service my prop
> yet, but it must be a common user error because we heard it mentioned
> several times.
> 7) We also got to go to the air force museum... too cool. If you've
> never been there... why the heck not?
>
If you feel compelled to reply to this long message.... please SNIP out
the excess!
> Vince Frazier
> 3965 Caborn Road
> Mount Vernon, IN 47620
> 812-464-1839 work
> 812-985-7309 home
> F-1H Rocket, N540VF
> http://www.usi.edu/science/chemistry/vfrazier/page1.html
>
>
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