AMT_June-July_2021 - 25

shops are performing that by hand, " added
Marinkovich.
" Not every shop out there does their
props the way that we do, as we employ
the use of a vertical propeller stand rather
than horizontal stand, so our technicians
can actually stand up comfortably and
work on the propeller without having to
stoop over and try and bend over blades
all day, " said Crowell.
While not a tool, American Propeller
Service does offer a unique pickup and
delivery service for propeller repair. " We
have five route trucks covering seven
western states, and all of them have
custom-built aluminum flatbeds on
them that are specially designed just to
transport propellers safely and securely, "
said James Bridgeman, general manager,
American Propeller Service.
The trucks allow as many as 12 to 15
propellers to be transported at once. " We
lock them all down so they're secure and
Propellers under maintenance at
American Propeller Service.
AMERICAN PROPELLER SERVICE
One of the high-tech tools that American
Propeller Service utilizes is an Aeroscan;
an automated blade measuring machine.
" Each of the blades have radius stations,
and each of those radius stations have a
requirement for width, thickness, angle in
relation to the rest of the blade and what
they call face alignment, which is where it
is face to camber. And this machine uses
lasers to measure all of those requirements
on each of the stations of the blade, " said
Crowell.
They also employ an automated rolling
machine that's produced by Hartzell,
which compression rolls the blade shank on
the Hartzell line of single-shoulder blades.
And also employ large grinders for removing
the required layer off of the aluminum
blades at overhaul. " We also use a shot peen
cabinet similar to the cabinet that Hartzell
propeller uses for shot peening the air foils
of the blades. We actually sent a tech over
there to research what they use and basically
got the same thing that the factory
uses set up here as well. And a lot of other
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transported safely from point A to B. And
they arrive at our shop for service perfectly,
and we send out newly overhauled
props, and they get to their destination
safely, which is pretty tough to do when
you're looking at potential LTL freight, or I
know some of the shops are sending props
back to customers on old used car tires, "
said Bridgeman.
" We're in Redding, California and you're
in the L.A. basin. We'll get a phone call and
schedule you a pickup. We can arrange
pickup, overhaul, redelivery back to L.A.
and it's usually about a three-week turn,
including the pickup and delivery time, "
elaborated Crowell. " And with our pickup
and delivery system we have in place, the
mechanic has no requirement for prepackaging
or shipping. We come pick it
up right at their hangar door and deliver
it right back to their hangar door. And on
the overhaul, that's included in the base
price of the overhaul. "
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www.AviationPros.com 25
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AMT_June-July_2021

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