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Technology update
Composite propellers provide improved performance
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Hartzell's new composite propeller used on the JetPROP DLX provides the aircraft with 23 lb more useful load while moving the center of gravity aft.
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JetPROP LLC has selected Hartzell Propeller Inc.'s four-blade composite propeller for the Pratt & Whitney PT6 turbine conversion of the Piper Malibu/Mirage. "The propeller is quieter and smoother than any other propeller we have tried on the PT6 to date," said Darwin Conrad, President and CEO of JetPROP LLC.
In addition to improving high-altitude cruise performance and reducing the amount of erosion from ground operations, there are additional benefits to the Hartzell composite scimitar blade system. The high-performance blades of these propellers are constructed of Kevlar, which offers benefits of lower weight and longer life over conventional metal blades, according to Hartzell. The propeller weighs 23 lb less than the company's four-blade metal prop that is currently in use, providing the airplane with more useful load while moving the center of gravity aft.
The blade's composite construction also allows repairs to be made by adding material (rather than removing material, as required with metal blades) as the prop develops nicks and gouges during normal operation. This, coupled with the inherent strength of composites, has enabled some operators to put more than 30,000 h on their Hartzell composite blades. According to the company, these Kevlar composite blades have also received an unlimited service life designation from the FAA.
Frank Bokulich
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