Press Releases

PIQUA, Ohio — September 11, 1996 — Harvey Schwab of Alabama was one of the first people to experience the benefits of Hartzell’s new three-bladed Scimitar propeller system for Cessna 180 and 182 aircraft. He expected a number of improvements compared to his original two-bladed system. Chief among them were improved acceleration and climb. After 110 flight hours, Harvey has noticed these expected improvements as well as a few others.

“Climb has increased considerably, but I’ve also noticed that the aircraft is dramatically smoother with the new Hartzell and a lot less noisy inside the cabin. And cruise performance has actually improved, too. You can’t go wrong with this prop.”

Hartzell’s new prop for the Cessna 180/182 aircraft will be the company’s largest STC to date, offering more than 20,000 pilots the opportunity to improve performance and reduce maintenance costs.

The Prop™ incorporates Hartzell’s Scimitar blade design with swept leading edges and a blade twist distribution that maximizes low speed thrust while maintaining or increasing cruise performance. The swept leading edges of the blades provide a distinctive look to the prop. The company’s experience with swept blade design goes back nearly 15 years to its work on Bill Lear’s Learfan, which featured radically swept Hartzell composite blades driven by two turbine engines. The Scimitar propeller system for the Skylane has aluminum blades and hub and is a member of Hartzell’s growing range of next generation lightweight, compact propellers.

At 78 inches in diameter, the new prop offers a ground clearance improvement over the original equipment two-bladed systems (81 inches). The new prop also features improved twist distribution. By designing this highly twisted blade, less can be demanded from the tip … where most propeller noise is generated. This aerodynamic “unloading” of the tip, and requisite lower tip speeds, significantly reduces internal cabin and flyover noise levels.

The improved airfoil design and twist distribution also contribute to top speed performance for the new prop which is expected to be better than original three-bladed installations. And when upgrading from a two-bladed prop, take-off and climb performance will be noticeably improved as well.

Less tip erosion, longer TBOs, and a strong warranty should significantly reduce maintenance costs for 180/182 operators. Shorter diameter blades will reduce erosion and the frequency of prop strikes while the 2,000 hour TBO of the new system compares favorably to original equipment which ranged from 1,200 to 1,600 hours. Cost for the complete kit is $6,995 and includes the propeller, polished spinner, and STC paperwork.

Hartzell propeller conversions offer pilots one of the easiest and most economical methods for improving the performance of their aircraft. And now with a wide variety of Beech, Cessna, Mooney and Piper aircraft kits, the Top Prop family represents the largest and most complete propeller conversion offering in the world.

Hartzell Propeller Inc. is the world’s leading manufacturer of propeller systems, enjoying an 85 percent market share on corporate turboprops and a 60 percent share on turboprop airliners. The 79-year-old company is also well-known for its design leadership, having introduced the industry’s first full-feathering propellers for light twins, the first fully-reversing propellers for corporate turboprops and the industry’s first structural composite blades.