Hartzell Propeller has implemented an engineering leadership transition. Vice president of engineering and flight safety Bruce Hanke is retiring in July, with his duties being assumed by 21 year veteran GE Aviation engineering leader Doug Washburn, who recently joined the company.

“Bruce Hanke, with over four decades of engineering and leadership experience, leaves a legacy of many achievements during his 20 years at Hartzell,” says president JJ Frigge. “Bruce's accomplishments include the development of composite-bladed propellers, light weight Bantam and Raptor series propeller systems, compact governors, in-house propeller deice and anti-ice system design and manufacturing, and improvements in the flight safety of Hartzell products.

“We very much appreciate Bruce's leadership and are looking forward to Doug Washburn's contributions in the years to come. Doug has a wealth of experience in the design, testing and certification of aviation components. He spent his first years at GE in testing, with a focus on instrumentation and airfoil vibration, so his background integrates well with Hartzell's future objectives.”

Using an innovative blend of sophisticated engineering analytics, certification skills and world class manufacturing technologies, Hartzell is working closely with many OEMs within emerging industries to fine-tune propeller applications.

“We have dedicated tens of thousands of engineering hours to electric, hybrid and hydrogen powered aircraft since 2019. We continue to make advancements in tooling, manufacturing processes and lightweighting materials,” adds Frigge.

Washburn's experience at GE Aviation includes a number of engineering management roles with skills in mechanical design, analysis and testing, organisational leadership, project management, fibre optic systems and team building. He has an MBA from Xavier University, as well as both a BSc and MSc in mechanical engineering from The Ohio State University. He also holds a Six Sigma Black Belt certification.