Brand New Prince Prop De-Laminating.. Issue Resolved

[142YX]

I had my airplane on display at the experimental fly-in yesterday in Mojave.. it was a relatively nice day for the area. Mid to upper 70's and a light & variable breeze that came and went.. so it certainly wasn't the worst of what can be expected in this part of the country. My airplane sat out on the ramp from about 9:30 AM until 4ish pm. Thats about the time that i noticed my brand new prince propeller that was in mint condition that morning starting to bubble - the carbon wrap is clearly de-laminating. Yea, I realize it is painted black.. but prince should not be selling these in that color if it cant stand up to an afternoon in the sun. Very disappointed.

I am going to contact Prince tomorrow about this and see if they will do anything about it. Has anyone else with a Prince (or otherwise black) propeller experienced this problem?

[MichaelFarley56]

Wow... To be honest I'm shocked! I haven't had my Prince for long and not when it's hot but I don't have any issues. Yours is the first I've ever heard of this.

Call Lonnie and ask him...I'm sure he will make it right. Let us know how it goes.

[N111YX]

Not normal. Mine has sat out way longer in much hotter temps.

Send it back to Lonnie and he'll take care of it. Hopefully he'll have an explanation, too...

[fastj22]

I have the exact same problem. Last week, emailed Lonnie and he agreed to send me a new prop without question. I received my original prop jan 2012. Not sure it its a a batch issue, I'm happy win the response from Prince so far.

[142YX]

I have the exact same problem. Last week, emailed Lonnie and he agreed to send me a new prop without question. I received my original prop jan 2012. Not sure it its a a batch issue, I'm happy win the response from Prince so far.

Wow, we are in the same boat. I ordered mine in Jan 2012 as well, so it certainly sounds like a batch issue. Saturday was the first time it saw the light of day for an extended period.

Glad to hear that this is not happening to other people's props, and glad to hear that Prince is handling the situation very well. I'll post what Prince tells me tomorrow..

[fastj22]

I didn't notice my bubbles until I had started flying. It hasn't been warm here and the plane hasn't soaked in the sun at all. I guess its heat coming out of the cowl after shutdown and I keep my prop horizontal. The bubbles are right there at the cowl intakes, but on the front side not the back. Weird, huh? I'm guessing a bad batch of epoxy. I wouldn't doubt our props were made in the same run.

Anyways, Lonnie was very responsive, he said its not a safety issue and I can keep flying until he gets me a replacement. He's backed up a few weeks.
I couldn't be happier with his customer service. Other vendors could learn a lesson from him.

[142YX]

Just got off the phone with Lonnie, you guys were right. Without question, he agreed to replace the prop with a new one at no cost. I don't think I have experienced customer service that good from anywhere in a very long time. I changed the title of this thread because i didn't want anyone doing a google search to get a bad impression of the company.. really impressed with how they are handling the situation.

I did try to probe a little bit into the issue, it seams as if during the time frame that we bought our props (early 2012) they were experimenting with different resin systems, which they have since stopped using because of these results. The newer props are all holding up better.

[fastj22]

Thank you for doing Lonnie right. Changing the thread title is a class act.
I have never had such great response from a vendor on an issue. Every time we lay down some decent money on a very specialty item, we risk getting something that disappoints us. I agree, I was disappointed when my prop started to bubble. I'm very happy with Lonnie's response. I haven't received my replacement prop yet, so I'm only going from what was promised, but I have no doubt he will follow through.

Now think of those guys who bought a certain engine package from a vendor with a very shaky history on a previous automotive engine conversion project, who left those builders with unsupported hunk of metal hanging on the front of their planes.

We almost need an Angies List of aviation suppliers. I'd definitely give Prince Props an A+.

[N111YX]

Now, how about some pics from Mojave... :)

[fastj22]

My replacement Prince prop comes tomorrow. Since I'm not home to sign for it, I rerouted it to a FedEx store I can pick it up Saturday.
Today, I torqued the heads and adjusted the valves. First time for me and surprisingly a very straight forward task. Much easier than my Karman Ghia.

Changed back to a Aerocarb #2 needle. I had installed the #1 thinking I need a much leaner mix due to my altitude. But turns out I was starving my #6 cylinder. So back to stock.

Took the old prop off and got everything ready for the new one.
I had painted the crush plate/nose cone but it chipped when I torqued the bolts. So I stripped all the paint off it. WIll leave it naked.
Also fixed a leak in the hydraulic brakes and installed aluminum plates on the wheel pants.
Busy, productive day at the hangar.
Hope to have the new prop installed Saturday and do some more flight testing.
9.2 hours into Phase 1.