Press Releases

80-Inch Diameter Propeller Improves Aircraft Performance

PIQUA, Ohio – Sept. 15, 2000 – Hartzell Propeller Inc. announced today that it has received a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) certifying a two-blade 80-inch diameter propeller installation for Cessna 170A and 170B aircraft previously converted to 180 horsepower Lycoming O-360 engines and constant-speed propellers. Installation of the propeller has demonstrated improvements in cruise and climb performance while still meeting current noise regulations.
Approved for landplanes as well as floatplanes, the complete STC kit for the Cessna 170 aircraft includes the two-blade 80-inch diameter propeller, the required propeller harmonic damper, polished spinner and STC documents for $7,595. The harmonic damper is required to keep propeller stresses at acceptable levels. A “sub kit” is also being offered which includes the damper, polished spinner and STC documents for $2,495.

Mr. Patrick Shier of Auke Bay, Alaska, operates a Cessna 170 on floats and recently replaced his two-blade 76-inch diameter propeller with the new 80-inch diameter Top Prop™ conversion kit.

“The airplane is tremendously faster out of the water,” reports Shier. “The climb is also improved, and I believe that I can get more speed with lower fuel burn during cruise. Elimination of the restricted arc on the tachometer is also a plus,” he added.

Hartzell’s Top Prop conversion kits feature improved service and maintenance benefits including a six-year, 2,400 TBO (the longest service interval available). The propeller also has the Hartzell Plus Three™ warranty, covering parts and service for three years or 1,000 hours.

Hartzell propeller conversions offer pilots one of the easiest and most economical methods for improving the performance of their aircraft. With a wide variety of Beech, Cessna, Commander, Mooney, Piper, and SOCATA aircraft kits available, 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, well known for its advanced engineering and manufacturing capabilities. The company is rich in aviation heritage tracing its beginnings to relationships with Orville Wright and Glenn Curtiss. Significant technical innovations include the industry’s first full-feathering propeller for light twins, the first fully reversing propellers for corporate turboprops and the industry’s first composite structure blades. Hartzell was recently selected by NASA as the exclusive propeller partner for its General Aviation Propulsion (GAP) program-developing the next generation of general aviation propulsion systems.

For more information about the Cessna 170 propeller conversion kit or any other Top Prop performance conversion, visit the Top Prop section of the website, or contact Hartzell and ask for a free brochure. Call toll free (800) 942-7767 or (937) 778-5726. Fax your request to Hartzell at (937) 778-4321 or email topprop@hartzellprop.com.