As part of the engine overhaul I'm undergoing, I elected to overhaul the prop governor at the same time.
When the prop shop (New England propeller) started the process they determined that the flyweights had to be replaced.
That's when it was brought to my attention that the only flyweights they could find (C-180 w/3 blade McCaulley prop) were going to run $1k, sending the prop governor overhaul price from ~800 to nearly 2k. Does this make sense to anyone? Do I have any alternatives that might be more cost effective without grounding the airplane for several more weeks? The gentleman at the shop assured me that A) he looked everywhere for these things and B) no PMA alternative exists.

Ouch.

Somethings wrong with this picture. You can buy a new governor for less.

Quint:

Here is the website for new PMA prop govenors, Aircraft Spruce has them for 1700 dollars no core required. They also have overhauled prop governors of all shapes and sizes for around 1200 dollars... but you need a good core. I have no idea what is meant by good core, if that means good flyweights then then your cheapest bet is still the new PCU5000.

http://www.pcu5000.com/

Hope this helps.

Gary

Call Southwest Aero in Washington. 206-575-8732 They are completely straight-shooters and seems to have a nack for scrounging parts. They are also very reasonable. They flat rate is $400. I have both of Maggie's governors done by Southwest last summer. One was $400 and the other needed parts and was more.

Kristin

 

 

Dear Quint,

I did not see a PA24-180 listed either. However I did see this one listing that might suffice. It is for a mooney with a 4 cyl lycoming engine. My 180 has a O360-A1D. What engine does yours have? What governor are you thinking of removing? D-1, H-1? Just a thought.

ATH-1
Hartzell D-1, H-1
Mooney M20, 20A, B, C, D, E, F & G
Lycoming (.866:1)
O-360-A1A, A1D, A2D
IO-360-A1A (2700 RPM)

Sincerely,
Skip Dykema

Quint and Skip

I overhauled my Mooney O360-A1D 5 years ago and found that the govenor hadn't been worked on in 30 years. It needed flyweights also and that ran the price way up. Shop around but you may be stuck.