REFLECTOR: To M.T. or Aerocomposite ... That Is The Question ???

[Darrell & Nora Kufalk]

I'm very happy with my Aerocomposites prop.  From all I can remember the MT
is just a wood prop with a very thin layer of fiberglass over it.  The
blades are attached to the roots with woodscrews.  I know I've never heard
of an MT loosing a blade but the cutaway of that blade to root interface I
saw did not impress me.  The other thing that turned me off from MT was the
typical European customer service we all heard about.  I deal with many
European companies and they all have horrible customer service.  

The Aerocomposites prop is a true composite prop.  It is fiberglass and
carbon fiber over a foam core.  The fiberglass is woven into "socks" that
are slid over the core and wrapped around a steel root.  It looks
unbelievably strong which, I believe, leads to better performance.

I too had the problem with blades sticking at high pitch in warmer weather.
Aerocomposites paid to have it shipped back from Wisconsin to California for
a rebuild.  I got it back in a few weeks and it has been bulletproof ever
since.  I can't imagine getting that kind of service from MT.

John, Glad to hear your prop is running well too.  

Darrell Kufalk
XL-RG about 75 hours on it so far.



-----Original Message-----
From: reflector-bounces at tvbf.org [mailto:reflector-bounces at tvbf.org] On
Behalf Of John Youngblood
Sent: Sunday, February 01, 2009 9:59 PM
To: Velocity Aircraft Owners and Builders list
Subject: Re: REFLECTOR: To M.T. or Aerocomposite ... That Is The Question
???

Hello Mike,

I flew my Velocity XLRG, 310hp Continental to Osh last year with an  
MT prop.  Replaced it with an AeroComposites prop upon returning and  
saw a 3-5 kt improvement in cruise (199 kts - 204 kts).  There may  
also be a slight increase in rate of climb.  But, I haven't done a  
back to back similar test.  I did have a problem with the  
AeroComposite "locking up" in high pitch during a flight last July.   
It was returned and AeroComposites had it modified to correct the  
problem.  I've flown another 30 hours since with no problems.  It's a  
very stout prop.

John Youngblood


On Feb 1, 2009, at 3:23 PM, Mike Wilson wrote:

> I know I really should re open this dialogue but necessity is the  
> Mother of ... well you know!
>
> I find myself in the need of small repair to my MT and before I  
> even contact them I wanted this group's opinion once more. I really  
> like the Aerocomposite but never read a definitive answer as to why  
> it is better.
>
> Mike Wilson
> Velocity XLRG / Lycoming IO-540 260 HP / MT CSP
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