I'm about to go Postal

My Catto prop showed up two weeks ago and it is a thing of beauty, Craig really did a nice job with it.

Only one small problem, I asked Criag to fit the spinner to the prop, which he is happy to do for a small fee. After the prop arrived I sent Craig a note asking about the spinner. His reply was that it shipped two weeks prior to the prop.

It looks like the postal service has lost my spinner. (I'm still waiting to hear the final verdict from Craig on that.)

Here is my delema. If the spinner is lost, should I send the prop back to Craig and have him fit another spinner? This risks shipping the prop out there and back. BTW, the box it arrived in had a big dent it but the prop was undamaged. Craig really knows how to pack his props. Because of the damage to the packing material I nolonger have it.

or

Should I just bite the bullet, buy a spinner from Van's, and fit the thing myself?

Try it

If you try to fit it yourself the very worst that can happen is a trashed spinner. If you ship your prop the worst is a trashed prop. Which would you rather have?

I'd go for the spinner and try to fit it myself.

But thats just me, I could be wrong.

I'd have Craig do another one for you. He ought to be able to use another prop in his shop to do the fitting, saving you the hassle/expense/stress of shipping it back. Were it a two blade, I'd say go for it, but the three blade jobs look a lot harder to fit. I paid Craig to do mine and it was well worth it.

Whichever way you go, be sure to fabricate some "socks" to fit around the root of the blade for installing/ removing the spinner. Without them you are guaranteed to scratch the paint at the prop roots.

PS- Fedex once lost my prop (not the Catto) for a full six weeks, so I feel your pain.

Bill,
Craig does a beautiful job on his props (including mine). However, I have seen several spinners that he has cut and unfortunately he tends to cut them with WAY too much clearance. Order a spinner from Van's and cut it yourself. It's not that difficult.
Mel...DAR

Roll your own

Buy another spinner from Van's and make your own. It is pretty simple, really. And, if the one Catto made arrives at some later date, then you've got a spare in case of any accidents. Or, you could make one of them a "show spinner": only put it on after landing at an RV fly-in, maybe put some wild design on it.

Here is one technique. Drop a PM if you need detailed explanation.







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Please excuse my ignorance on this topic as I am still far from this stage, but I think I have a cool idea. Suppose Catto makes up a prop and then chops the blades off leaving only little blade stubs that just contact the inside of the spinner. The spinner could then be slipped right over it allowing the builder to shine some light on it and trace the outline directly onto the spinner. I figure he must have a few bad props lying around that could be sacrificed. This tool could then be loaned to those who purchase props. Whatta ya think Craig? Anybody? Totally stupid idea??

Steve Zicree
RV4 finishing

Steve,

That is a good idea but all of Craig's props are custom made, including mine. He matches the cut of the prop to the plane, engine, speed (climb, cruise, or mix), and engine options (injected, carburetor, one or two electronic ignition, etc.); thus no two are exactly alike.

Craig has already told me that if the spinner doesn't show up I will have to send my prop back to him.

Mark, Thanks for the photo's. I haven't hung my engine yet so not having the spinner right now isn't going to set me back. I'll let you know when I get to that point in the spring.

I figured as much, but I'll still bet the root area of the blades are similar, if not nearly identical.

Ok, here's a follow up idea. Maybe somebody in the VAF is smart enough to come up with a quick, easy, CHEAP way to make a mock-up of the center section of a prop. I'm picturing some kind of mold making process where I could make a cast of the prop center section. I've seen a lot of this kind of thing on Myth Busters and figure maybe somebody with an art background might have and idea. Such a method has gotta be better than all that tedious trimming and re-trimming only to wind up with a sloppy fit.

Steve Zicree

Spinner fits

The Catto is a cool prop. I saw Spruce Moose's prop at Osh and it looks great. (now if he'd just paint the plane Come on Jeff, where's the Harley paint job?

I went with the Whirlwind RV200 prop for a variety of reasons. This prop comes standard with a completed spinner that fits dead nuts perfect. It is Carbon fiber with internal structure that mates to the hub. There are no screws at the reinforcement plate. Very clean look.

Darwin N. Barrie
Chandler AZ

I'll make you a good deal on a Spinner--Ban's-- don't plan on using it.

May be good props.. but take a long time to get

I don't have my Catto prop yet (it's "in the mail") but I ordered the prop in January and it just shipped yesterday... 11 months! I was quoted 14 weeks when I ordered. In September (9 months after I ordered) I gave him some wiggle room since I didn't need the prop. Told him I needed it by the end of October. He agree'd to that and then the dates kept on slipping.

He may be a great prop maker but his ability to deliver on time and to be honest about when he can finish a prop are awful. I also know 3 other RV-9A builders who ordered props around the same time and it took them 10-12 months to get theirs.

If you want one, order it a year before you need it!

PS - He will never answer his phone and only replies to about 1/2 the emails you send.

Sorry to hear that

FWIW: Mine was delived within a week or two of his time estimate.

He occasionally answers the phone, but he is very good about calling back, usually within the hour. I also know that he often juggles his production schedule around to accomodate those who need it more quickly. If you need it in two months he can probably do it, but the "I don't need it for quite a while" types will get pushed back more and more in the process.

I've had overall good experiences with Craig.

Craig has been great to deal with

Every time I have had a question, I just send him an email and he always replies, and very quickly.

It looks like there is no joy with my spinner. Craig sent me a note during the holidays asking what I wanted to do. When I told him I would send him a check for the remainder of the prop but not the spinner he understood. The bummer is that he is out $250 for the spinner and his labor and I'll have to order a spinner and cut it myself.

I'll hold off as long as I can ordering the spinner in hopes that the lost one shows up and is not crushed.