I called Hartzell today and talked to them about the prop. The person that I talked to was helpful, but not very knowledgeable. Seemed like they were reading off the computer screen. I had to be transferred to another department for pricing. Here are the highlights they provided when compared to the blended airfoil prop. Specifics weren't great other than weight and cruise speed.
1) Total weight is 42lbs and is 16 lbs lighter than the BA prop
2) Better climb than the BA prop
3) Smoother than the BA prop with no RPM limitations
4) Better braking/steeper descents than the BA prop
5) Slower in cruise than the BA prop by ~2kts
6) Better looking than the BA prop by 25kts while parked (!)
- my edit
You can have all this for a modest list price of $19,730. I assume this price doesn?t come with the spinner. They proceeded to tell me to call Vans to get a much better price under their OEM relationship. So I called Vans, and they initially they knew nothing at all about it, but then someone in the background chimed and said it would be available once they had a chance to test it, but it could be a while (months). Suggested I call back monthly to get a status. So there you have it. My guess is Vans might be 10-15% less than the Hartzell list price. Nice looking prop, but that will be at a serious chunk of change. More to come as I get additional info. Still interested.