Mark,
Somebody posted this Youtube fix recently - many thanks to whoever fingered it out. Delete everything after the question mark in the Youtube url, highlight the remaining text and then click on the Youtube button.

Hello All,

Looking for PIREPS on the Hartzell Voyager 86" for the C185. There are a few in this forum, but a few years old. Hopefully more people have switched to it or the users have more experience with the prop.

Rgs,

Patrick

A guy on my field has it on a 185 amphib io550 and he swears by it

I was one of the early adapters mentioned. I’ve now had the Voyager for 5 years, and while the price increases have changed the value proposition a bit, I’m still amazed by this prop. Zero downside so far, and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

Switched from a c-58 to voyager, still just as strong pull, less noise, much smoother, maybe faster

I went from a C66 88” to a two blade MT to a Voyager on a high compression Pponk 180.

The two blade MT is 5-7 mph faster than the C66 and takes 18# off the nose if I’m remembering right. The plane feels great when light and takeoff and landing is really short. Throttle response is like a two stroke dirt bike. When heavy I didn’t like how the airplane felt tail heavy.

Voyager is equal speed to the MT, maybe slightly faster. It is much smoother and seems quieter in the plane in cruise. The pull out of the hole of the Voyager is unbelievable. When loaded down and coming out of strips above 9000’ in Colorado nothing compares to the Voyager.

Cautionary tales:

Had two buddies tell me these stories this weekend.

The first was back on amphibs since last summer. Checking out his island. Docks and lifts aren’t in yet. So he was looking for a safe place to tie up. He didn’t have waders so it had to allow a non water access point. It’s a 10 acre island. So it took awhile. He decided to error on the side of caution and depart rather than damage the aircraft. He was on the south side of the island and decided to depart south into a light wind. Turns out there are some rocks protruding out of the water about 100 yards off shore. it was his first time since last summer departing and he departed majestically (or so he told me). on climb out he realized he never identified or thought about the rocks. sick feeling. He said. Had he hit them the aircraft would have been destroyed and he may have been as well. He was so focused on the beaching part of it he never fully thought through the departure. There was no other traffic on the water and he felt it gave him a free pass. Hmmm. My buddy promises to be better.

My other buddy was out flying on a beautiful UP day on Cinco De Mayo. 2 hours flying 10 water landings. He returned to his home base KSAW for fuel and a hangar. It’ a 9000 foot runway with only a mid point exit. He asked to land and do a 180. That was approved. 10 knot 90 degree crosswind. He was really going to nail it. He got within 5 feet or so agl and, as he started to flare he felt something wasn’t right. The aircraft handling was slightly off. A little power to stop the decent. A quick glance at the gear lights and they were in water position. He claims to have heard the gear position voice but didn’t want to be distracted so he quickly silenced it. He executed a go around. On climb out he asked if tower knew why. They didn’t.

The subsequent landing was uneventful.

Hope you don’t have buddies like me eh?

Mark, I could always use more buddies with some good luck and maybe guardian angels looking out for them.

Thanks for sharing the cautionary tales.

Here are some recent photos of my Skywagon. Got it painted in Bend, OR - Cascade Customs Design - Steven Bird. They really have an amazing paint shop and IMHO - this is the guy you want painting your airplane. He painted a friend's 185 2 years ago and I was blown away at the quality. It is not the cheapest paint shop out there but the quality of his work speaks for itself.

I also had the airplane in John Bentley's shop getting several items addressed both before and after it was painted. John is also another great resource for all things Skywagon. He really is an amazing IA/guy and can fix anything. I bought a Sellirk Composite Cowl that was a pain in the ass to fit due to my O520 engine and heavy engine mount. He rebuilt the horizontal stabilizer with the Tanalian kit which places a 4 mm skin on the leading edge of the Horizontal Stabilizer and makes the area impervious to dings. I also had the all of the control surfaces reskinned (This was actually a pretty good price) by a local sheet metal guy near KSPB. The airplane has never flown or looked as nice as it is right now. The whole project took 9 months with the airplane being down for just about 6 months total of that time. I went with the classic 1955 Scheme - despite it being a 58 C180A. Anyway - super expensive doing all this work and I regret zero of it. Love throwing money on my airplane. I am super happy with results. The airplane is nicer than I ever imagined.

Stunning

Josh:
That is a stunning 180! I am presently enjoying my recently reconstructed one, done by the extraordinary masters at Mountain Airframe. Del Lehman and his crew have been the most honest, hardworking, and dedicated people I have ever had the pleasure of dealing with, and I am most grateful to them for their work.
I am presently using a McCauley D3A34C three-blade propeller, which I find excellent for my needs. However, the noise signature, which I call the Sound of Freedom, is beginning to create some complaints from my non-pilot neighbors, and I am considering going to the Hartzell Voyager.
I would appreciate your input on the propeller that you are using.
Best,
Tom
PS: I like your landing gear speed mods, something I could not use when I was operating my airplane at the airstrips of my ranches. However I did find these factory original speed fairings, which I like for their look, and keep telling myself make my airplane 10 Kt. faster.

Tom,

I am not running a Hartzell Voyager on my 180. At least not yet. Currently I have a 78 inch Hartzell Scimitar prop. This was the first of the Harzell props with the shaped blades and was put on my airplane in 1994. It has been overhauled twice and IRAN'd once since. It is a quiet prop and makes very little noise. It is still in really good shape too. My 180 performs well due to O520/Sportsman combination but I have always felt I had the wrong prop on my airplane. I think the 86 inch Voyager will be my next upgrade - hopefully my last. I have friend who just bought the composite version and she is upgrading to an O470-50 Northpoint (PPonk) engine in her 1957 C180A. Her plane does not have a sportsman cuff nor does it have the Snider Speed kit but I am looking forward to comparing them: Takeoff/landing distance, climb rate/time to climb to 10K, and cruise speed with her airplane. If I am impressed - I will upgrade to the composite Voyager. I get teased by my 185 friends who run 88 inch two blades or Black Macs about how my Skywagon sounds like a mouse. The Voyager makes a little bit less noise than the Mac 401 but is still loud due to the 86 inch blades. If you want a really quiet prop - the 78 inch Hartzell is it. Mine will be for sale after I upgrade.

Josh: Thank you for your information. I do not wish to monopolize this thread, but I do think that the viewpoints and experiences forwarded are of interest to all the participants.
We all will be looking forward to your experience with the composite Voyager. For now, I will continue to operate my McCauley, as it has given great performance. I see a lot of speed claims on this and the 182 thread, so I will refrain from posting any that may appear exaggerations.
One of the things I particularly like about my setup is the rounded and classic in appearance spinner. I got it field approved years ago, and it came from a NOS early Bellanca Viking. I think that it complements the lines of the early 180's well.
It's getting pretty hot in West Texas, and I am beginning to dream about Johnson Creek and the Skywagon folk headed there later this Summer. Let me know if you are going.
Best,

Tom

New problem:
As of today, my trim won't roll nose up. It'll go forward, but not back. I can roll it back a little, but it just feels like it's taking up slack and nothing moves. There's no vertical or horizontal play on the horizontal stabs.

We took all of the inspection covers off and looked at everything visible forward of the aft-most bulkhead, and under the access panel underneath the jackscrews. Nothing abnormal.

Unfortunately, it's stuck at the home field and I'm forced to use the talent I have available, which isn't especially Skywagon expertise.

I've talked to a couple of experienced pilots and owners, and they both think it's likely related to crud on the jackscrews or bushings. They suggested I simply pull the tail off and clean and re-lube the jackscrews. I'd rather not. And I'd really rather not replace the jackscrews, as the kit for that is $2662 from McFarlane.

Before I embark on this tail removal and reinstallation, is there something else I should look at? I don't think it's the trim wheel. When that famously-failing pin goes, the wheel spins freely without moving the stabilizer. The chains, cables, pulleys and turnbuckles all look normal, as does the course of the cables (that is, it doesn't look like anything has jumped a pulley).

And since it's stuck at home, can you recommend someone who might be willing to come here and take care of it? My local A&P has a medical situation that makes it so he wouldn't be able to do it without my help. Given the option, I'd rather have someone else do it while I went to work and earned money to pay him.

You might give the wheel assembly a look. Sudden, one-way travel on the trim happened to me one time. Slight spalling on one of the stop catches (spring loaded ball/detents). I mean very, very slight and it prevented the wheel from moving one way. Quick smoothing of the ball...back in action, never to have happened again.