April 1999 - American Bonanza Society

CurrentsBY LEW GAGEParts prices for HartzellMV configurationmodificationFor those folks owning airplanes thathave a Hartzell propeller falling underAD 97-18-02. I have some good newsand some bad news.First, the bad news. The AD is still ineffect. Now the good news. I had the MVconfiguration modification accomplishedon my propeller as well as a completeoverhaul. This was the first overhaul ofthis propeller since, out-of-the-box newfrom Hartzell. The V-shank blades andall the pans that may be reused weregood. The cost to do this should havebeen minimal. However, this is what happenedto run the total bi II up to $4,060,plus taxes.While at the ABS Convention in St.Louis, I attended a seminar by Hartzellregarding this AD. All the informationregarding several blade failures, clampfailures, hub failures and other items werediscussed. Al so, copies of severalHartzell Service Bulletins were passedout that described the problem, the severalmethods of compliance with the ADand the pricing policy that Hartzell offeredto bring the affected props intocompliance.Hartzell SB 61-232 detailed the li stprices of the parts that might be necessaryto comply with the AD and advertisedthere would be a 50 percent discountthrough September 1999. Although Ithink these list prices are unusually highto start with. 50 percent off is a lot betterthan a poke in the eye with a burnt stick.While comparing the price I wascharged for the new clamps wi th the SBprice, I saw I was charged $46 1 (plus tax)more than I thought I was going to pay.based on the quoted prices in the SB.I called Hartzell in Piqua, Ohio, andtalked to Brad Hall in Customer Service(937-778-4360). The list price on theclamps had gone up (where else?) from$954 each to $1.179 each. I also foundout that the 50 percent deal is good onlyif you do business at the Hartzell ServiceCenter in Piqua or sOllie of the nine U.S.Hartze ll distributors. Very few propellershops are distributors.After some discussion with Mr. Hall,several faxe s, etc., Hartze ll agreed toadjust the price on the clamps back to theSB price. But that 's the price to the distributorsor to owners who take their propto Piqua.But here is what actually happens tothe guy who does business at places otherthan Piqua. Some, maybe all, of the fiveHartzell distributors or four repair facili ­ties mark up their 50 percent parts priceapproximately another 10 percent whenselling to the non-distributor prop shop.Then the prop shop marks the parts upagain around 10 percent of their cost. Thenet result is the customer pays an additional20 percent above what the "beforegame activities" had him believing hewas going to pay.A few more days and faxes later.Hartzell agreed that the customer shouldget the full reduction of 50 percent of thealready inflated list price from their distributorsand repai r facilities (see list).What other prop shops do with the pricingis "beyond their contro l."It appears that Hartzell's view of allthis is the parts have passed to the consumerwhen they leave the nine approvedlocations, regardless of whether those receivingthem are actually the consumeror a non-Hartzell-approved prop shop.The non-Hartzell-approved prop shop willthen mark the parts up as they see fit. Onecannot expect independent shops to notmark the parts up a reasonable amount. Itis just part of staying in business.So if you've already had theAD workdone or are going to, you should gel acopy of Hartzell's SB 61-232, SB 61-233and S B 61-217. Study them and comparethe invoice prices on work you've alreadyhad done or the quote on what you aregoing to have done with the prices listedin 61-232. You may have money comingback from Hartze ll or not be spendingquite as much as you would have.There were two items found on my propellerthat proved to be a concern, one ofwhich cost an extra $175 and the other thatcost nearly $2,000. Thankfully, the S2,000one proved to be repairable.The cylinder of the propeller overwhich the piston or "dome" of the propslides during blade pitch changes is a hardchrome-plated piece. The chrome is thereto reduce the wear that the O-ring sealand the phenolic piston guide ring bushingwould create on a plain steel surface.The chrome was completely worn throughon a large, oval-shaped area of the cylinderrendering the cylinder unserviceable.The cylinder is supposed to have alayer of chrome .002-inch thick over theunderlying steel cylinder. Upon measuringthe cylinder. it was determined thatthe original chrome was only .0000-inchthick or less than 25 percent of the specifiedthickness. A new cy linder wouldhave cost more than $400. However,Hartze ll had just approved re-chromingan otherwise good cylinder. Thus, theadded $175 . That thin chrome lastedabout 1.700 hours of operation. So muchfor specifications.The second item was the hub itself.When the magnetic particle inspectionABS April 1999Page 5666