New prop, one less AD, and some great customer service from Hartzell

This past December, I was lamenting our options in dealing with AD
2006-18-15, the repetitive eddy current inspections on our Hartzell prop
hub. Our prop had been through three overhauls and it likely would not
have made it through one more (prop shop did some measurements while on
the plane and it was a matter of how thick the paint was as to whether
or not it could go through another overhaul).

We considered repetitive inspections as well as priced out our options
for 2-blade replacement props. We'd ruled out 3-blade options mostly
due to the increased cost.

After posting about it here in r.a.o (see:
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.a...6c816188d4d93),
I received an e-mail from Kevin Ryan at Hartzell telling me about
their 40% discount on a replacement prop and hub. As it turns out, this
was about 1.2 AMUs less than what a local prop shop had quoted me for a
2-blade McCauley prop & hub. My partners and I pondered the options and
decided to go with the Hartzell option.

This past week we had the prop installed and it looks and works just
fine. Yea, for us, AD 2006-18-15 has been terminated.

One thing I wanted to mention is the great customer service response
from Hartzell. I'd been a little soured on them due to a pretty lame
response to my questions of their guy at their booth during the 2006
AOPA expo. My experience in dealing with Hartzell for the replacement
prop, however, dramatically turned my opinion around. Kevin provided
all of the information for ordering the prop as well as answering a
bunch of questions about returning the old prop. It was a very positive
interaction and in the end, we received exactly what we were looking for
at a substantial discount.

If anyone wants Kevin's e-mail address, drop me an e-mail. Unless, of
course, you're reading this Kevin and feel like increasing your spam
intake by posting your e-mail address. :-) It could be a test of
Hartzell's spam filters, eh?

--
Jack Allison
PP-ASEL-Instrument Airplane

"To become a Jedi knight, you must master a single force. To become
a private pilot you must strive to master four of them"
- Rod Machado

(Remove the obvious from address to reply via e-mail)