Hartzell offers AOPA-exclusive discount

Hartzell's carbon fiber propellers generally improve performance over the factory propellers they replace. Compared to wood-core propellers with composite coatings, Hartzell's carbon fiber composite designs have thinner blades created around a foam core that shapes the carbon fiber during construction but is not required to give the blades strength. The process results in thinner airfoils that reduce propeller blade drag and weight compared to metal, wood, and wood-core propellers with composite coatings.

Hartzell has secured 21 supplemental type certificates to date (with additional approvals in progress) to install Top Prop carbon fiber composite propellers on various piston and turboprop aircraft, including the recently announced Carbon Voyager propeller available for Cessna 180, 182, 185, 206, and T206 models. Another recent STC extended Talon aerobatic propeller eligibility to the Game Aerospace GB1 Gamebird.

Three-blade carbon fiber Hartzell Top Prop models are available for installation on Beechcraft Bonanza and Debonair models, Mooney M20 series aircraft, and various Maule models, for which a two-blade version is also available. Three-blade options are also available for the Cirrus SR20 and SR22 models, with four-blade variants also made for the SR22 and SR22T.

Five-blade carbon fiber composite Top Prop propellers are available to install on popular turboprops made by Daher, Pilatus, and Piper.

Compared to metal propellers, composite propellers generally improve performance, reduce weight, and enhance repairability. Minor repairs of nicks, dings, and scratches can be done in the field by an A&P mechanic, company officials explained in a recent conversation with AOPA. More significant damage can be repaired at the factory. Unlike aluminum blades, carbon fiber composite blades can be restored by adding new material.

Hartzell introduced the current generation of carbon fiber propellers in 2006, and the production process has been used with more than a dozen type certificates since the technology was launched with the Cirrus SR22T.

AOPA members may access Hartzell's discount offer here, subject to membership verification. The $1,000 discount for AOPA members on the purchase of carbon fiber Top Prop kits may not be combined with other discount offers, and is available only when propeller kits are purchased directly from Hartzell. Hartzell also offers trade-in allowances for serviceable propellers through the Top Prop Conversion Program.

Learn more about Hartzell's composite propellers in this white paper.