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Show Propeller Engineering, local company, onvernavoonal sales ..vorylHwly's got u dream," says Van K.iynoKls, owiw of Propeller Engineering, bic poan's dream is to expand his toilless to tiu-UuU his own factory. Ins own hanr for a ultralight aircraft, VA a 2iH) foot runway. Hut I Van ad-mits'tliat ad-mits'tliat might be in the future sometime. some-time. Kisht w lk' is lll,i,e wlent l spend his time lio'll! something he rlully likes to do-build adjustable j pil'ch'propellers for ultralight aircraft. Adjustable pitch propellers cost about 70 for a three propeller model. That's about twice as much as a fixed pjk.h propeller. But it's worth it, according ac-cording to Dean. You sec, a fixed pitch propeller regulates the performance for the aircraft. The owner has no control. con-trol. An adjustable pitch propeller allows the owner of the aircraft to adjust ad-just the pitch of the propeller to match the engine and aircraft, thereby giving giv-ing him the climb and economy he is looking for. "What we have here," explains Dean, "is about 100 different companies com-panies building ultralight aircraft, and every one is different. There is no w ay a fixed pitch propeller can be everything to everyone, but my adjustable ad-justable propeller can. By just slight-lv slight-lv twisting the propeller position, the pilot can create the flying machine he is looking for. A little more pitch, and the pilot gets more thrust and more power. This is especially helpful because often times ultralight aircraft are expected to takeoff and land in very short distances. A little less pitch, and the pilot gets more economy, although the power is cut hack. It just depends on what the owner of the aircraft is looking for." Since the Uintah Basin is a major oil producing area, there are many national na-tional and even international companies com-panies located here. But beyond the oil industry, there is little reason for international in-ternational companies to choose the I'intah Basin as an area to locate. Propeller Engineering is not what one would call a conglomerate, since Dean owns the company and does nearly all the work himself. Nonetheless, Propeller Kngineering distributes worldwide. On Monday 1 Van was working on an order for SIR) propellers that will go to a distributor ui West Cermany. He also sells on a regular basis to companies in Canada, Australia, and Japan, and several distributors in the United States. IVan is not solely responsible for the reputation that Propeller Engineering has made for itself. He purchased the company from a Morgan, Utah man about two months ago. The basic problem pro-blem with the success of the company has not been a shortage of orders, but there just are not yet enough ultralight aircraft being sold to allow a full-scale operation to take place. However, IVan is confident flying ultralight aircraft air-craft is not just a fad that will fade away with time. Kight now ultralight airplanes are allowing people the opportunity op-portunity to fly who never before could afford it. Dean believes the business is now just getting a good start. But, until there are enough un-tralights un-tralights sold to warrant the factory, Dean will continue to put in long days just doing something he loves to do. He says he's just excited to get the chance to go into business for himself. "I love flying, I wouldn't have been in the airline industry for 32 years if I didn't." For a large portion of those years Dean was with Frontier Airlines. When they pulled out of Vernal about two years ago. Dean went to work for Air Link Airlines. Either he had someone so-meone w atching over him, or his timing tim-ing is just good. About two weeks after Dean left Air Link to purchase Propeller Pro-peller Engineering, Air Link ceased their operations for monetary problems. Dean claims his propeller is the finest on the market, and several companies com-panies who sell ultralights must agree, since his is the only propeller they use. He is proud of his product. Even though he did not create the original design, he is determined to maintain the quality of the product, and hopefully hopeful-ly even improve it. All Dean's propellers are made from Nothern White Maple. The pieces of wood come in 3 to 4 inch thicknesses, all in 18" laminations. They come from Belmont, Michigan, and are very difficult to get. Right now Dean must plan two months in advance in order to give the lumber company plenty of lead time. The finished product is not only extremely ex-tremely well engineered and built, it is also beautiful. The white maple goes through several steps before it is ready for the finishing touches, all of which are done by hand. First there is sanding, san-ding, then more sanding, then additional addi-tional sanding, before a fine, hard lacquer lac-quer finish is applied. A hand inspection in-spection of each piece makes sure everything is perfect before assembly. The center piece, which holds the propeller pro-peller blades together and at the perfect pitch, is really the engineering marvel. This metal intricacy holds the propeller in perfect position, and yet allows the owner to loosen a few screws and adjust the pitch. By tightening the screws, the blades are again held perfectly in place. Once the propeller is assembled, Dean places it on a metal rod which simulates the post from the ultralight engine, and tests are made. Only when he is satisfied everything is perfect does the propeller get packaged for shipping. And there are extra touches to Dean's propellers. For a few extra dollars one can order the propeller with epoxy edges. Not only does this add to the beauty of the wood, but it also makes the edges less vulnerable to wear. While the basic products are the same, Dean adjusts each propeller to individual specifications. Not only does Dean sell on the wholesale market, but retail as well. He advertises adver-tises in the Glider Rider magazine, which is distributed in 60 countries. When he receives an order from an individual, in-dividual, he likes to talk with the person per-son on the phone before shipping the propeller. That way he can find out what the owner's expections are, and |