REFLECTOR:MT 540 Prop

John Dibble reflector@tvbf.org
Fri, 31 Oct 2003 13:06:21 -0500


Thank you sooooo much for some objective information that I can use.  I also have the
Franklin/IVO combination with 270 hours.  I'm guessing the negative comments refer to
use with Lycoming which I understand is a bad combination.
I did a lot of retightening of the mounting bolts over the first 50 hours.  They would
lose torque literally in the hangar overnight.  I understand this is because the
knurled surfaces on the flanges are slowly biting into the fiberglass.  My stainless
tapes have also remained intact.  Don't use aluminum tape.  It is weaker and will
break and give a false indication of a problem.
The factory tells me that dynamic balancing is not necessary, but the discussion on
the reflector has convinced me to have it done.

John

Brian Michalk wrote:

> Hehe.
>
> Okay, in defense of IVO:
> My buddies Velocity has been flying for almost two years with a Franklin/IVO
> combination.
>
> I swore off IVO several years before that and was skeptical of the the IVO
> quality.  He put an IVO on his airplane due to two big reasons: Center of
> gravity, and cost.  The weight of the IVO is much lighter than the MT.  And,
> well, the cost.
>
> I went over this airplane many times before the first flight and was present
> at several engine starts.  Whenever I was at his hangar, and I could find a
> torque wrench, I would note the position of the wrench, crack loose the nut,
> then retorque the nut to specs.
>
> Now, I know that he torqued the bolts after the first run-up, but I was the
> only person to torque them after other runups.  On every single case, on
> every bolt, the retorqing position returned to  the same place where it was
> before I got to it.  This means that there was no settling or shifting of
> blades in flight, or engine starts.
>
> He has the fabled stainless tapes.  They look the same the day he put them
> on the prop.
>
> At about the 10 or twenty hour mark, a bolt went through the prop, and he
> had to send a blade off for repair.  I think the entire repair including
> shipping was less than $200.
>
> Granted, my observation is a single data point.  I've seen the prop,
> scrutinized it, and feel that it is safe for me.