Special Prices for SOAPA Members on Gear-door Mod and other STCs

[Skymaster337B]

Karl, what are the signs that a spinner is about to come off? I've never heard of a spinner failing. Was it missing spacers or something?

[sgmret]

While I never had a spinner problem with either of the Skymasters I owned (many years ago) I did have an unnerving experience with the spinner of an early Piper Cherokee Six explode on takeoff at Sewanee, Tennessee once. After applying full power and starting the takeoff roll and just at rotation I heard a loud noise and saw pieces flying everywhere from the front of the aircraft. I was accompanied by one of my early flight instructors from Alaska on that flight and you can't imagine how fast one can get an airplane stopped and two guys can get out of an aircraft on the runway, not knowing what the problem was. That early PA-32 had a fiberglass spinner and it just threw itself apart. Fortunately, I had just visited Bill Kerschner at his home base and he knew a Piper engineer at Vero Beach. Bill called him and he advised to remove all remaining remnants of the spinner and to fly the plane at a slower airspeed than normal to provide for proper cooling. I flew back to Rolla, Missouri where the aircraft was operated by the local FBO without further difficulty.

[CO_Skymaster]

My rear spinner came off during a flight from California to Colorado. The spinner tore away right where the plastic ring covers the pressure cylinder on the propeller. So everything behind that was gone. The next annual (after I had the rear cone replaced) the A&P said I had extensive wear inside the front spinner. They used a clear tape to reinforce the wear inside the spinner. I didn't fly the aircraft much until I could replace the front spinner. I had visions of the spinner going through the propeller, windshield, or hitting the rear propeller. That's also why I decided to perform a dynamic prop balancing this annual.