Hartzell Prop on 14-19 Cruisemaster

[JackFulford]

Some good news for 14-19 guys. I have been working with my friend Sherman Oxford on a problem that he ran into when tried to have the recurring inspection per AD 85-14-10 performed on his Hartzell prop (Hub part number HC-12V20-8D). The prop is off of his 1950 14-19 Cruisemaster with a Lycoming O-435A (splined shaft). The prop shop told him that according to the Hartzell Service Bulletin HC-SB-61-331 published 1 April 2012, they could not perform the inspection and he would need to get a more modern “D-model” hub. The service bulletin stated “Compliance with this Service bulletin is required at next propeller overhaul or major disassembly”.

Many, many phone calls to prop shops across the country showed there were no “D-Model” hubs to be found at any price. Without a prop all he would have is a parts plane. A call to AOPA indicated that there may be an issue with the service bulletin because only the FAA can mandate the replacement of an approved part and this would be done via an AD.

Calling the FAA, I connected with a very helpful person by the name of Chris Richards. He researched the issue and offered the guidance below e-mail. Sherman's prop is now undergoing the AD required inspection and should be ready in a few days. The prop shop is going to annotate the inspection paperwork to state that "per customer request Hartzell Service Bulletin ... was not performed".

FAA EMAIL Follows:
Hello,

I have had a few discussions with you or with people you work with regarding continuing support of Hartzell Propeller model HC-82, specifically with regards to continuing support of AD 97-18-02 R1 and AD 85-14-10 R2. This includes propeller assemblies with hub model HC-12V20-8D, but also applies more generally to all type certified products. As a quick summary of the FAA requirements for the propeller manufacturer: as long as they hold the type certificate, Hartzell must continue to support their HC-82 products at least to the extent that the product can continue to be flown in compliance with all ADs. This means that they will continue to make the maintenance manual available for purchase upon request. However, because they are not producing new parts, they will be adding some warnings to the manual concerning use of parts with unknown histories.

With this maintenance manual, a propeller repair station should be able to maintain the HC-82 propellers in accordance with all applicable ADs (emphasis added). If you have any questions on this, please let me know.

Regards,
Chris

Christopher J Richards
Aerospace Engineer
FAA Chicago Aircraft Certification Office
Tel: 847-294-7156
Email: christopher.j.richards@faa.gov

 

[Dover]

Interesting read on the SB. Obsoleting manuals/ ICA? If they say the manuals are no good, how can you use them?

Was Robert G. Mann, Acting Manager, Engine and Propeller Directorate, Aircraft Certification Service, contacted? He is in charge of the AD.

 

[JackFulford]

I was originally speaking with Tim Smyth at the FAA, he is the manager for the team. He directed me to Chris Richards. I was recently told that Hartzell is going to re-publish the Service bulletin to better reflect the fact that the manuals can still be used and the AD performed. From what I can understand Hartzell can decide to no longer make parts but, they can't decide something is not airworthy. Only the FAA can do that. This was a very educational exercise for me.

 

[Dan Cullman]

I notice that Cruisemaster N6587N that was listed on Ebay, again, was sold, again. I guess there's not much penalty for non payment of a winning bid the first time.....
I wonder if the winning bidder is a member of this organization. Anyway, even though the Hartzell has only 80 hrs, both it and the annual are 10+ years old. A $16,000 Cruisemaster may not be the bargain it seems. I hope the winner had his eyes open!
Dan