Dennis. We had a lengthily discussion about spinners a while ago. The opinions differ. Some claim the airplane would not be airworthy without the correct spinner on one extreme and others claim that cooling will be effected by the lack of a spinner. I can tell from personal experience that the spinner makes no difference in cooling , nor was my airplane not airworthy anymore. At least my mechanic had no problem with it and neither did I. On my spinner, the backplate cracked and I had to wait for a new one. Meanwhile I went flying. There was no difference in speed, airplane handling or cooling. Appearance suffered, but hey, that's only on the ground, the engine not running. Not a big deal.
However, there must be a reason why the backplate of your spinner fails repeatedly. Maybe it is not the right spinner after all? Hartmut From: Dennis Sent: Sunday, June 06, 2010 10:21 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [ercoupe-tech] Prop Back Plate I've had several members tell me that for the prop back plate to last longer (on my 1946 415C), I need to install a front plate and then I think I would need a new spinner, since the holes in the old spinner will not work with the new front plate. I think the only purpose of the back plate is to attach the spinner. So, rather than spending $500-$600 for the front plate, back plate, and spinner, I am considering running with no plates and no spinner. Other than reducing speed slightly and not looking as good, is anyone aware of other negatives of running with no prop plates and no spinner? Thanks, Dennis
