Story ID: 
Hartzell Passes PC-12 Prop Milestone
By: Curt Epstein
Caption: Its new composite five-blade propeller is now installed on more than 200 of the single-engine turboprops.
Word Count: 214
Hartzell Propeller has reached a delivery milestone for its new composite swept-tip five-blade propeller for the Pilatus PC-12, handing over more than  200. The Ohio-based manufacturer has supplied Pilatus with more than 160 of the 105-inch-diameter props for factory-new PC-12NGs.

With carbon fiber blades, a nickel cobalt leading edge, a stainless steel mesh erosion screen and a wedge shank retention system made of stainless steel alloy, the new props are lighter than wood-core five-blade propellers and seven pounds lighter than the standard four-blade aluminum option.

According to Hartzell, the new five-blade unit gives the turboprop single an additional five knots of cruise speed, a 50-foot-shorter takeoff distance and a faster time-to-climb to cruise altitude. “The Pilatus PC-12 with Hartzell’s aerodynamic five-blade prop gives owners and operators excellent performance and reliability," said company executive vice president JJ Frigge, adding that the Hartzell warranty covers the new unit through the first overhaul (six years or 4,000 hours).

The propeller is available for retrofit under the Hartzell Top Prop program, and the company has already outfitted more than 50 of the 1,400 in-service PC-12s, worldwide. Hartzell will display the propeller and have technical experts on hand this week at the Pilatus Owners and PIlots Association Annual Convention in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.