FWF: Spinner & Propeller. Spinner mounted.

I found the spinner a bit challenging in areas, which I will expound upon in this post.

Removing the gap fillers was relatively benign.

Next was to verify that the backplate had no dishing beyond 0.04".

Epoxy is wiped onto the flange contact areas (left) so that the line on the S-602-1 Spinner Plate is visible to permit "blind" drilling through the S-601-1 Spinner.  Turns out that even with this glossy layer of epoxy painted in, it's really difficult to see the line on the backplate flange (right) through the spinner.

Although not called for in the plans, I deemed it prudent to verify if the spinner would spin true prior to match drilling, using the tried and true method (left) of a sharp marker affixed to a ladder with the former's tip placed on the center of the spinner.  Then the prop is rotated 360°.  The dot looked good (right) so no adjustments were made.  This is another indicator of the quality of the kit.

Next the Spinner is match drilled into the S-603 Front Spinner Bulkhead (not shown) and to the Spinner Plate (left).  Turns out that I had a hard time keeping the holes on center and even accidentally drilled #19 the holes for the S-606A Gap Fillers (right) - they are supposed to be #40.  The latter error caused me to have to replace the entire backplate ($85.43, shipped), necessitating later removal of the prop for the second time (the first being here).  Plus, I had to fill in all the holes in the Spinner and Gap Fillers with epoxy-flox.

So, on my replacement spinner backplate, I decided not to follow plans.  On advice of an RV-9A builder, I instead drilled the required holes into the Spinner Plate's flange prior to placing the spinner.  This ensured they were all well centered on the flange.  Then I used an angle drill and match-drilled the holes into the Spinner and the Gap Fillers.  I believe this is a superior methodology.  Also, I did not upsize the screw holes to #19 just yet, because it's easier to place and remove the spinner for fitting (verifying blade pitch and aligning aft edge) a multitude of times with clecos (shows further below). 

It's worth nothing that Van's demonstrator, N214VA, has poorly aligned holes on their Gap Fillers.  You can see this when you view the turntable.  They may not have followed the technique I outlined above.

Note how the old holes (filled in with epoxy-flox, in pink) line up with the new ones.

Gap Fillers with their S-606C Backing Plates.  I had one slightly misaligned hole on the Gap Filler shown on the right (second from bottom hole).

Next I needed to trim the aft edge of the Spinner to be flush with the Spinner Plate.  First, I traced a line to indicate the forward boundary of the necessary cut (top).  I then used my Dremel to cut right up against that line (right).  Then I used 40-grit sandpaper on a sanding block to bring it flush (bottom).

Next it was on to verifying that the blades have the requisite 1/8" clearance when they travel through their full pitch, stop-to-stop.  Below shows the two boards I clamped for that purpose.  The towel is to prevent marring the blade.

Finally, the holes were upsized to #19 and the nutplates were attached.

All done!

FWF: Spinner & Propeller. Propeller mounted.

With the help of a friend, it took no more than 2 hours to mount the Hartzell C2YR-1BFP/F7497 propeller, which I ordered on 19-Aug-15 and received 29-Sep-15.

The propeller has an "R" flange, so one of the bushings on the engine flange sits in a smaller diameter hole (left) and is stamp-indexed as "0" on the engine flange.  It is also noticeably different than the other 5 bushings (right).  Thus, the propeller is intended to be mounted to the engine in only one relative orientation.

The R flange is apparent below, with the smaller diameter hole on the right.

The Spinner Plate Assembly gets attached.

Harztell's Propeller Owner's Manual 115N Page 3-15 (Rev. 22 Jul/16) states to use a "'new' self locking spinner nut 'G' on each of the hub clamping bolts used to mount the spinner bulkhead" (left) whilst the plans state that the hardware is supplied with the propeller on Page 44-02, Step 5 (right).  What's a guy to do?  A contributor to VAF contacted Harztell, the latter of which stated "The B-3599 nuts can be removed and re-installed many times."

The propeller is escorted to the airframe (top) and attached (bottom).  Tip:  Place the alternator belt prior to mounting the propeller.

After slowly and carefully tightening each bolt over the course of an hour, the propeller is affixed.

Torquing the bolts is a challenge since access to them is quite limited (replacing the alternator belt will be a chore since the prop needs to be removed).  Hartzell has a torque wrench extension (left) for the purpose, however it's quite expensive, as are similar offerings from other vendors.  I copied this individual's approach.  It cost me $1.16 in additional hardware (right).

Update 14-Jan-17:    Do not neglect to remove the expansion plug from the engine prior to mounting if you're using a c/s prop!

FWF: Spinner & Propeller. Spinner plate assembly.

The S-602-1 Spinner Plate and S-602B Doubler Ring are match drilled.

The center section of the Spinner Plate is removed via a combination of a multitude of holes made with a large unibit (left) and careful, though judicious, use of the Dremel (right), the latter of which was completed by my friend.  I attribute to "the 51% rule" that these parts aren't both pre-cut.

The parts are then primed with Napa 7220 and subsequently riveted together.