TD Bonnet Prop from Greg Cenzer

Just completed my TD bonnet prop. The hinge is mounted using a firewall bulkhead bolt. The prop itself is simply a 5/16 in steel rod and the hinge bracket is bent up sheetmetal with sloped hinge ends to clear the top of the bonnet when closed. The rod is located laterally at the hinge so when it swings into a deployed position it clears the horn. It's held in place with washers and cotter pins on either side of the hinge bracket. The bumper end has a size up bushing pinned to the rod with a 5/8 in rubber cane tip. The bumper happens to line up with the footwell bolts when stowed so I made a stowage clip and used one of the bolts to mount it. Since the hinge bracket is held by only one bulkhead bolt, to prevent any rotation in use, I added a small sheetmetal screw through the hinge bracket. Both left and right props can be used simultaneously, holding the bonnet sides open in gull wing fashion. I'm working on a safety feature which would clip the bumper end to the bonnet latch spring in the event wind or a shoulder bump may be a lifting off factor.

Most props that I've seen where the prop bumper is inserted into the bonnet lock spring, there is no provision to prevent lift-off in the event of an accidental bump of the shoulder or a minor wind gust. This latch has been added to my Gull wing prop design shown in another thread and provides for some protection in the event such occurrences may happen. This is not meant to protect against high winds, under which you should not use the prop in the first place. Improvement suggestions or comments are welcome.