Aeromatic identification

H

Harmon

New member
Seeing as the f200 hub that came with my project came in a box, and replacement parts appear hard to find, I went ahead and picked up another on ebay to have spare parts.

When the new hub arrived, I set them side by side and discovered an oil line in the bottom of the box with my old hub. What the heck,... then I found a "hat" that fits where the cover plate is normally mounted on the front of the hub, and a fitting at the base where the hub mounts to the crankshaft flange.

I am guessing this is the "high cruise" model? The airplane has what looks like a choke cable that disappears into the cowl near the hub and appears to terminate near the case on the left hand side.

I haven't found any pictures of a high cruise on line, and I don't recall anything in the logs mentioning it. Interesting, but information about them seems nonexistent. I am going to say tentatively at this point that this is a high cruise model?


 
From searching earlier posts it appears the high cruise would be identified as F200-H on the data plate, which mine is not.

She does have a 165 Franklin out of a Stinson. But since the data plate on the propeller says Bellanca, I'm guessing it was modified to a high cruise at that point.

Just sorting through parts in the living room at this point.

Ironically though, the hub I just picked up has Stinson on the data plate, and no provision for oil at the flange.

 
The first photo shows an "H" propeller. The tube allows engine oil to pressurize the hub. You must have a
crankcase that allows a valve to be mounted that will drive the propeller to low pitch. Your 'choke cable"
is your controlling mechanism.
The only difference in a Bellanca prop and Stinson prop are the blades. It looks like you need a pair.
Dan
 
Thanks Dan

And yeah, I'm going to need blades eventually, but I want to have a solid assessment of the entire plane and make sure the project is a viable go before I pull the trigger on the big dollar items like new blades.

Meanwhile, I keep checking Kent's website every week or so hoping to see him back in business but it looks like a pretty solid stalemate there.
 
Changing a standard Aeromatic to a High Cruise is a simple job of drilling and tapping the flange for the oil line that you found and mounting the hydraulic cylinder on the front in place of the plate . I think there is one internal link to change, but it is easy. When those parts were easy to find, prop shops could modify them, but maybe not bother to stamp the H on the data plate. Does your engine have the oil control valve that the cable runs to? It will be near the front left motor mount. They are a great prop, and I hope Kent gets his shop going again. _____Grant.
 
I suspect when the engine was replaced with the 165 hp model out of a stinson is when they must have put the high cruise on. And like you said, didn't reflect the work on the data plate.

I can't quite see the oil controller valve on the engine block. The tinwork is pretty tight, I'll see if I can get a borescope in there at some point and get some pictures.

Everything points to it being installed, but I still want to see it. I've never seen anything quite like this system.
 
If you remove the bottom cowl, and look just above the left front motor mount, and a little forward of where the oil lines come out of the case, there will probably be a small valve with a lever that is about 2 inches long. If the cable is still connected you should be able to see the cable. I have some information about the High Cruise, but I dont have a scanner, so I am going to mail it to Larry L for him to scan and post. The older Aeromatic manuals show the High Cruise, and how to adjust it. Have you looked through your logs or the CD from the feds, to see if it was done, and just not stamped? I will try to get the stuff in the mail tomorrow to Larry. ______Grant.
 
Thanks for the advice. I will probably try to get a better look this weekend.

I haven't had any luck finding any information on the high cruise in the logs yet, but I'm still looking. Some of the verbiage is rather terse.

Kudos to you guys for working on the high cruise information, that'll be great to have available. I am pretty excited to see I had one, but also struck by the fact that in front of my sixty seven year old pile of parts is a propeller most people haven't heard of, and in front of that is a modified version of which I doubt there are a few dozen in existence. Maybe it's just me, but i'm expecting Rod Serling to start narrating at any moment.
 
Yes, you have a rare and unusual prop, but it is not too the outer-limits of reality. If Kent ever makes piece with the feds, the Aeromatic, (reg,or High-Cruise) is the best prop going for the Bellanca. I just mailed some Aeromatic info to Larry L. for posting. Hopefully it will help some folks. ______Grant.
 
I have copied the F200 and F200H data from Grant. The file is too big (3.8M) to post here. If you want it, email me and I will send you a copy.
LL
 
Larry, good copy of the old manual. I am sure there is more information out there, but that manual should be of help. I have a little memory (getting littler every day) of reading that the control cable would be mounted on the lower left side of the panel. I would think that mounting it just like a modern constant speed cable would make more sense, but who am I??? If I find more info, I will pass it along to Larry. ______Grant.
 
I finally found (at significant cost) the F200H manual all four pages of it! At least it explains how the adjustments are made. I also solved the problem of the spinner support. And am happy to report the prop works well ... much more thrust at takeoff, climb about the same or maybe a bit better than the metal prop, cruise noticably better. With the spinner in place, and the Petten wheel fairings and flush door handle, my 150HP CA will cruise at 140 mph without breaking a sweat.
 
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