A64Pilot

Without getting nasty an MT is a composite prop. it’s a fiberglass covered wooden prop, which by definition is a composite. But it really shouldn’t be grouped with the Carbon fiber blades of other manufacturers Performance wise the “Scimitar” etc blades are really more about looking cool. from a performance perspective there just isn’t much difference if any, although there may be some slight noise reduction from a swept blade, that’s really more tip speed dependent. Any prop blade that flexes reduces pitch, a force is applied and causes the blade to flex to reduce the force, they don’t flex and increase pitch or scoop more air, they will also “cone” which means the blades will flex and the prop disk become cone shaped. The BIG advantage of metal blades over wooden ones is that they don’t flex as much. Nickel from a sand erosion point is far superior to either aluminum of course or SS, the BlackHawk’s blades leading edges are Nickel, the Apache’s are Titanium, the Nickel seemed to wear as well as the Titanium in the desert. Some of the old round tip fat blade props perform very well, they may not look as cool. but performance wise they are tough to beat, and some of course perform poorly. ‘I’m not sure for example that there is a better prop for my J than the factory round tip Mac. Depends on what you want in a prop, I assume most of us Mooney guys want high cruise speed, while a C-185 on floats may want high bollard pull to get onto plane fast. ‘Any speed increase or decrease shouldn’t be hard to quantify, however if it comes with a new engine, then the new motor ought to give some speed by itself as usually an old tired motor is down on power some when compared to a new one. On edit, even if there is no speed gain, the lower weight which of course increases useful load and the better CG along with increased ground clearance (I assume there is some?) is worthwhile. Different kind of airplane, but I went from an old round tip straight blade two bladed Hartzell to a cool looking three bladed Hartzell Scimitar, lost slightly in climb and lost 2kts cruise and gained 12 lbs on the nose which of course pushed the CG to the forward limit, and I believe that CG shift may have been responsible for the loss in performance ‘In my case the CG shift was a good thing because then I could really load the aircraft heavy before it got out of aft CG.

You see this i’m a lot of forums, people drop a question and want an answer now, they don’t want to join a forum and interact etc., they just want an answer. Often they get rude about it if asked any questions too, and just as often it’s really tough to understand their question as it doesn’t make a lot of sense, use punctuation etc ‘I believe it’s just an internet “thing” some of the younger among us grew up with that phone in their hand and it brings in a whole different set of social norms. This person was not at all bad, but as a norm you never hear back and never get a thank you.

I would use blue loctite, do NOT use red. I would suspicion that possibly the gaskets are compressing over time, but blue loctite should work and do no harm. ‘Anti sabotage lacquer AKA slippage mark wouod tell you if one has moved on inspection.

Ref the they have to prove you were there etc. I don’t believe that’s the case for tax, I’m certainly no tax lawyer or expert, but I believe for whatever reason the burden of proof is on you. I also don’t believe that ignoring it is going to work, tax wise I believe they levy penalties and interest over time, time is not on your side. If it’s 90 total days in one year as opposed to 90 consecutive days, that may be tough to prove. I’d bet that a logbook is legal proof, I know it is in the Marine world and bet it is in aviation, it would be my only way of proving where I was. It’s my belief that States are using ADSB for tax enforcement, they used to walk the ramps and check hanger rentals etc, but flight aware is so easy, you don’t even have to get up from your desk, if your job was to find aircraft that owe tax, wouldn’t you? Some ADSB transponders have an anonymous mode. if your transmitting 1200, even ATC only sees VFR, not your tail number, then having the FAA not release your tail numbers to outside agencies may help, but it was proved to me that there are private agencies that collect the data anyway, and while I question the legality of that, I’m a nobody, it’s going to take AOPA or similar I think to fight that battle. ‘I think if you had a log book showing that you weren’t there for 90 days that you can beat this, but I am no lawyer. I got into a argument with Ga about a boat that I kept in Fl and could prove that it was in Fl every day of the year and Ga law said I only owed tax in Ga if it were there for more than 6 months. When shown the proof the Ga tax person she said show me where you paid Fl tax and I won’t charge you Ga tax, Fl doesn’t tax boats so I couldn’t. I knew I could win but I woud have to hire a Lawyer to do so, and that would cost more than the tax, so I ended up paying tax that I didn’t owe.

This airplane also has four blade MT propellers https://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/last-long-distance-escorts-180973974/

Those were generalizations which don’t mean much of course, but you have to admit your aircraft is a little unusual compared to a normal average GA airplane, It really benefitted from less weight, and any extra ground clearance is a very nice thing to have, most aircraft don’t have those issues, so my guess would be even if you gave up a couple of knots it would still have been a win, and moving the CG aft just might be why you didn’t, possibly, who knows, so long as it worked for you is all that matters. I personally wouldn’t have an MT prop because the owner is an Ass. He owns a part of Avia propellor also, which means Igor who is an outstanding good person has a cross to bear, he owns the rest of Avia. I think the little German fellow had his butt whipped and his lunch money stolen too many times in grade school maybe, he certainly has that attitude. Joe Brown who owns Hartzell however is a very nice, genial person, be a great neighbor. Joe would own up to any mistakes, apologize and personally ensure the issue was fixed, but there are few problems.

As a general statement, the more blades there are, the smoother and quieter a prop is, even if the diameter is the same as with more blades often require less pitch so the airflow over the tip is slower. ‘Also the more blades there are, the more drag there is, usually more than two blades are used for ground clearance issues, a two blade prop in most cases will perform best. The Navy Greyhound COD has eight blades I think there is I believe a Russian cargo airplane that may have more than that? More blades is usually more weight and money too.

What many will do is order a factory overhaul and when it arrives, swap out and send the old engine in for the core charge of course. ‘Accomplishes the same thing, but may cost more, but is a lot more simple, plus factory zero time motors make a airplane easier to sell or bring a higher price than most field overhauls

MT prop would be significantly lighter, and I believe shorter meaning more ground clearance. I’ve not flown one, but woud be surprised if didn’t lose some performance. ‘I woud be surprised if it wasn’t smoother and quieter too.

It was for ATC services or similar, so yes.

It’s been years ago but I flew through Canada and when I got home, I got a bill in the mail

It’s been what a week ago when I was made fun of for trying to “hide behind a Montana LLC” ‘It’s been a few years ago, but Fl got real aggressive chasing aircraft for the use tax, and there are a lot of out of State aircraft that spend winters in Fl, and therefore a huge amount of free money ‘If your curious FL law is if your in the State for 90 days,even if your a USCG resgistered boat, you WILL be registered and buy a sticker. I feel sure the non US Yachts are exempt, the foreign flagged vessels that don’t pay US tax. ‘There are legal ways to avoid these problems

I can’t answer why we need Mode-C, it would seem that ADSB would supersede it. ‘However I’d bet lunch money that while the FAA required all of us to buy ADSB, they themselves haven’t fully integrated it, meaning I’d bet that a lot of their equipment is using Mode C and not ADSB yet. ‘That’s just my guess

There are also Viton line silicone hoses,but as Viton is a brand name, and other than it being a synthetic rubber I’m not sure what it is. I’m no chemist This may be a Plexiglass / Ploycarbonate discussion. ‘But it’s irrelevant, all I was trying to do was keep people from buying plain silicone hose to put on an airplane and expose it to oil.

The industry standard going back for Lord knows how long has been to fill tubes with boiled linseed oil and drain it. Bell 206 engine mounts will have rivets in the tubes, that’s where they drilled a hole to put the oil in and drain it out, then seal the hole with a Cherry Max. I’m almost positive my 1946 Cessna engine mount was filled and drained with linseed oil, I’d guess this started literally about 100 years ago? In manufacturing you have to have all process specs approved, I’m sure there are better products than Linseed oil, but it works and is pretty much guaranteed to be approved without question by the FAA as its been the standard longer than any of them have been alive, to get something new approved will probably take time and money. ‘It took I’d guess about two months getting powder coating our fuselages approved and several Engineering reports addressing questions / perceived problems. ‘If you want something new, you have to prove it will do no harm, interestingly they really don’t care if it’s better or not ‘I’ve never heard of painting the inside of a tube, doesn’t mean it’s not done, just I’ve not seen it ‘I have during tube replacement of rusted tubes, sprayed liberal amounts of Corrosion-X in the adjoining tubes hoping to prevent further corrosion, but that was a repair and seemed logical to do. I think it helps. ‘Unless it’s a long tube like a fuselage longeron for example, I’ve found it easier usually to replace a tube as opposed to repairing it, although a proper repair is actually stronger than a new tube, it just looks better if it’s replaced.

No, I am not wrong. ‘Silicone hoses are not compatible with petroleum products, period. ‘You get around that by purchasing silicone hoses lined with a product that is compatible, just as what I said about Viton. ‘The point of my post was to try to keep people from going down to the car shop or Ebay or whatever and buying pretty silicone hoses to put on their airplane. So is the exterior of your hoses also protected?

That’s exactly where I am now as a new owner. I have a rusted tube under the panel, but all others look fine, At this point it’s just surface rust, but to me it’s made no sense, what was the cause of this rust in what should be a dry area? why is it only one tube? I was thinking maybe it had masking tape on it at one time, I’ve seen a tube rusted from that before. The NACA duct and vent, that must be it, until I read your post I didn’t think about it, but if there is any rain or even IMC, your pumping in water and or moisture right in that area. ‘Now I know the cause and will keep that vent closed unless it’s VFR and no rain

Any internal combustion engine pulls in air after shutdown and this air is often moisture laden. ‘It will also condensate on any cooler engine part, on cars you would see it on valve covers, so valve covers would often have rust and would be among the first place you would find sludge. Back in the 70’s and earlier you would know if Quaker State or Penzoil was used in a car as soon as you pulled a cover, often just removing the oil filler cap woud tell you,just stuff would condensate I’ve heard of people who will connect a hose to the breather tube that connected to desiccant, I see the logic there, but have a hard time seeing removing the dip stick doing anything.

I would “assume” it’s lit whenever a limit switch doesn't have continuity. That’s an Assumption, and we all know what that is, but maybe it will shake out someone who knows what turns on the light.

Ones we were working with would ignore a Toyota, but as that’s software I assume it could be modified, just as a software change allowed Patriot missiles to target ballistic missiles in SWA and a software change had fire finder radar tracking small arms in Bosnia. Probably could have it track cows with a software change, part of what made it “brilliant” was everything has a different acoustic signature and you can only have it track acoustic signatures that match. Civilians control the Military spending, not the Military and they can be very creative with money, I’ve seen it. We have no idea what those things cost, I couldn’t even find out what an AH-64 cost, sure there were numbers quoted, but as you dug just a little you found out that they didn’t include a few small Government supplied items like the engines and targeting systems Hellfire has become a sniper weapon, and back in my day they cost the same as a Mercedes did. Often it’s not even the Military pulling the trigger. We always fight the last war, and while maybe F-22’s and Anti Armor weapons weren’t needed for the last one, doesn’t mean that they might not be for the next. You can’t just mothball an entire industry with the thought that you’ll pull it out in a hurry when it’s needed, just like Military plastic Surgeons are doing face lifts and other plastic surgery all of the time, no there is no Military necessity for that and some think they shouldn’t, but if you don’t allow a Surgeon to practice their craft, you won’t have any, they will leave, so the Military industrial complex has to be doing something or it won’t exist anymore

Sticks are for aircraft that Maneuver often, not the best thing for a cruising aircraft. ‘I’m very surprised you didn’t like a stick for crosswind landings, I believe it’s due to not having a lot of stick time. About 80% of my flight time is in aircraft with sticks and I prefer them, but sticks have limitations, they are best for single seat and tandem seat aircraft, not so much for side to side seating, OK for aircraft with two doors, but not for a single door aircraft that is side by side, Imagine having to climb over a stick to get into a Mooney Piper built a stick controlled side by side aircraft for one year, in 1946. It was called a Clipper. Uncommon as they were only built for the one year, but they did a good job of highlighting why sticks aren’t always the best choice. ‘There have been aircraft that were meant to maneuver with yokes of course and they performed well, Lockheed’s P-38 is an example, so it’s what you get used to, but a yoke is just so much more practical for a side by side GA airplane.

When I worked at the test activity, we had a Blackhawk outfitted with a “BAT” seeker. the Blackhawk woud fly the BAT’s profile for testing. As an AH-64 driver I wasn’t part of the test, but I believe they were developing software for the dual mode seeker. https://fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/atacms-bat.htm ‘I don’t know if the BAT was ever fielded or not, but the BlackHawk guys got to do some fun flying.

Powder coat isn’t any harder to remove than a good quality two part paint, thankfully it is harder to remove than paint from a rattle can. ‘As I said at least two aircraft manufacturers who’s entire airframes are 4130 tube have been powder coated with FAA approval for two decades or so, with no problems. I’ve seen Maules that were on floats in the Bahamas stripped for new fabric, the ones powder coated are fine, the painted ones usually have several severely corroded tubes and many will need replacing. ‘After seeing a few of those, I decided to have the Thrush airframes, engine mounts, landing gear etc powder coated, because Ag aircraft operate in an extremely corrosive environment, and quite frankly paint just isn’t as good as it used to be with all the concerns with VOC’s etc. ‘If the above question about tubes internally coated was asking about Thrush, yes. ‘The process begins by drilling and tapping all four engine mount attachments, plug three and connect shop air to the fourth and pressurize the airframe with shop air (120PSI) then using soapy water look for any leaks at the welds and repair any that there are, then using all four drilled points. fill the entire fuselage with heated boiled linseed oil, and raise it by the tail to the ceiling and drain it overnight. ‘The landing gear used to not be linseed oiled, I started that about the same time as the powder coat. ‘I would hope that Mooney linseed oils it’s tube components, it’s been an industry standard since before WWII. ‘I’ve heard, but do not know that at times Mooney has MIG welded tube assemblies and at other times TIG welded. ‘TIG welding is usually considered to be a superior weld. ‘If any one knows, I’d be interested in knowing what years they used MIG welders, if they ever did.

Trust me, powder coat the mount, there is no reason not to, and a few to. People why say powder coat hides cracks are uninformed, same for those that say it changes the heat treat, it takes about 800F to change the heat treat of 4130, and a powder coat oven isn’t close to that. After seeing the history of Maules airframe powder coating I went through the pain of getting the Thrush airframes powder coated, for the last I’d guess 15 years all Thrush airframes, engine mounts, landing gear etc are powder coated, white

I agree about the composites, there are huge issues with inspection and repair, metal is just so easy in comparison, to say nothing with UV resistance and high cycle fatigue, on and on. You can literally crack an airframe or dimple it if it’s metal, bang it out and rivet a doubler in, composite not so much. Even something as simple as stripping to repaint may take on a whole new meaning