201 MT Propeller pirep

[ArtVandelay]

I maintain several dozen planes locally, that have a mix of Hartzell aluminum, Hartzell composite, and MT composite props. We overhaul the Hartzells when we change engines at 2000 to 2400 hours. Otherwise, they need very little care. 
None of the MT's make TBO. For example, I overhauled one 18 months ago, due to a cracked leading edge and extensive lost filler, and it now has 1100 hours on it. They installed MT factory overhauled blades to save down time. I spend a few hours per month filling in lost filler behind the leading edges. And re-bonding the trailing edges where the cover separates. It leaks grease, and of course, there are no fittings to re-lubricate the hub. I have another one that las less than 600 hours since new on it, and it's been back for repairs twice, and it's leaking grease again. My hangar neighbor put a new MT on his Cessna, and it's not a year old yet. The spinner bulkhead cracked behind all three blades. He has to put his old prop back on while MT fixes his new prop. 
But I do think an MT prop would look great hanging on the wall as a decoration. They look pretty.

Maybe it’s the environment, where are you based at?

[philiplane]

11 hours ago, ArtVandelay said:

Maybe it’s the environment, where are you based at?

I'm sure that heat and humidity don't help the MT props. But Hartzell composite props operating in the same environment don't have any of these problems. You can check the Diamond Aviators website, they report lots of leaks, and short blade life due to cracks & dis-bonding of the blade cover. And the repair and overhaul costs are more expensive than a Hartzell, and the overhauls take twice as long. So you get less uptime and less life for more money? On the next engine change in March, one client is dumping his MT to put a Hartzell in its' place. It's been too fragile and too costly, compared to two other nearly identical planes that have Hartzell props on them. We have a lot of flights to the Bahamas, where runways are covered with little stones. They result in small, field serviceable nicks on the aluminum Hartzells, little scuffs on the composite Hartzell leading edges, but they result in $6500 repairs on the MT's.

A friend has a 2018 Diamond DA62 with less than 500 hours since new. The props have been repaired once already, fortunately under warranty. Next time, which probably won't be too far away, it will be out of warranty. $$$$$

Edited January 8, 2022 by philiplane

[Mcstealth]

On 9/22/2020 at 7:33 PM, flyer338 said:

My Mooney is in the shop for an avionics upgrade - I am getting rid of the King HSI and AI in favor of an Aspen Evolution E5. I get to lose the remote boxes, lose the vacuum system, and keep the KAP-150.

As soon as my wallet heals, I am going to think seriously about an MT prop. I wonder how much resale value there is in my McCauley? That might make a huge difference in when I do this. 
And three-blade props look cool. I will collect some climb, cruise, and noise data, before and after to share.

I suspect the lighter propeller moving the CG aft might help with the cruise numbers. I think I will measure the cruise at 6,500 and 13,500. The EIS-4100 helps a lot (I think) between 11,500 and 13,500.

How are the new avionics? Love? Hate?

[DEGWS]

Hi,

anyone have an idea how to index the 3 blade prop on the A3B6D Engine?

Does it make any difference regarding vibrations in the cabin?
With the two blade it was a big difference after converting from A1 to A3 Engine.

How it is with a 3 blade?

 

thanks!

[201Mooniac]

Not sure about the indexing, my AP installed it but with regard to vibration, mine is super smooth and when I went to have it dynamically balanced, the tech told me not to bother, he likely couldn't get the ips much lower.

[Yooper Rocketman]

On 1/5/2021 at 12:09 PM, Tim Jodice said:

Update on the MT prop. It has about 200 hours on it, it parks on grass every day and files in the rain. In my experience so far it seems that they have fixed the issues of the composite/paint separating in rain. 

As you can see the tip is barely showing wear yet the rain was hard enough to strip the boot adhesive inboard.

Not that I expected the adhesive to be durable but considering how far inboard it is, how much slower it hits the rain and that it is completely cleaned off the leading edge I think demonstrates that the tips were going through some hard rain.

Still in love with the prop. If I had to change airplanes it would be the first thing I upgrade on the new one.

@Tim Jodice  Just wondering how many hours on your prop now and if you still have good paint adhesion?  Mine was installed in 2019, has about 400 hours on it, and the paint is coming off enough I need to repaint it.  MT offered to repaint it, providing I pay shipping BOTH WAYS to Germany. 

Tom

 

[Tim Jodice]

21 hours ago, Yooper Rocketman said:

@Tim Jodice  Just wondering how many hours on your prop now and if you still have good paint adhesion?  Mine was installed in 2019, has about 400 hours on it, and the paint is coming off enough I need to repaint it.  MT offered to repaint it, providing I pay shipping BOTH WAYS to Germany. 

Tom

 

I dont have the 201 anymore. I think they mean shipping to Florida. I had paint issues as well and they told me the samething. I ended up going to sun n fun, left the plane with them and avoided the R&R labor and shipping. 

[Will.iam]

On 7/3/2022 at 6:46 AM, Tim Jodice said:

I dont have the 201 anymore. I think they mean shipping to Florida. I had paint issues as well and they told me the samething. I ended up going to sun n fun, left the plane with them and avoided the R&R labor and shipping. 

So just to clarify you would still buy one again as the benefit of smoother and more quite running are worth the hassle of flying down to sun-n-fun and leaving the plane for them to remove repaint and reinstall the prop?  Your earlier posts said you did not have any peeling issues but now you posted this one. Did the prop start loosing paint more quickly after a certain number of hours or was it a steady erosion? How many hours did you have on this prop before you did this repaint?

Edited July 5, 2022 by Will.iam
Added more questions

[Tim Jodice]

1 hour ago, Will.iam said:

So just to clarify you would still buy one again as the benefit of smoother and more quite running are worth the hassle of flying down to sun-n-fun and leaving the plane for them to remove repaint and reinstall the prop?  Your earlier posts said you did not have any peeling issues but now you posted this one. Did the prop start loosing paint more quickly after a certain number of hours or was it a steady erosion? How many hours did you have on this prop before you did this repaint?

I would definitely buy one again. it had about 450-500 hours on it. It was after heavy rain. I was going to sun n fun anyway and in the past I didn't park at LAL so parking in Deland was not a big deal. This is the picture I sent them and they said that they would (and did) repaint it.