What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

MT Governor surging

B

BillOrcutt

Active Member
Anyone having engine/prop surging on full-power go-arounds? I have a Superior IO-360/180hp/CS with MT Governor, Hartzell blended airfoil prop. I suspect the governor, as RPM seems to have difficulty getting from 2640 to 2700 on the climbout, yet reaches 2700 normally during the first t/o of the day. Oil pressure is normal, reaching 90 psi on t/o. Fuel flow reaches 16.6 gph on t/o. thanks. Bill [email protected]
 
Yep. There are some very long and helpful threads here on the topic from the past. Do a quick search and you'll have plenty of reading material.
 
MT Governor

My gov is doing the same thing. I called MT and they said send it back. What you want is a model # that ends in "-7"
 
I went through this a few months ago with MT. Some of the early models, especially those with B or C suffixes on the serial number, had issues. You send in your governor and they will upgrade it to an "F" level revision which completely solved my problem. At the time I sent mine in the total time it took them in the shop was only a couple of days. I was surprised when I received it back when I saw the list of parts that were replaced on my unit with only 45 hours on it. I was also pleasantly surprised at all aspects of their customer service.

No charge for upgrading to the "F" level revision. Only thing they could do better would be to have a pool of units that they could send out on an exchange basis to minimize down time.

Bob
RV-10 N442PM
 
Not the best governor

bcondrey said:
I went through this a few months ago with MT. Some of the early models, especially those with B or C suffixes on the serial number, had issues. You send in your governor and they will upgrade it to an "F" level revision which completely solved my problem. At the time I sent mine in the total time it took them in the shop was only a couple of days. I was surprised when I received it back when I saw the list of parts that were replaced on my unit with only 45 hours on it. I was also pleasantly surprised at all aspects of their customer service.

No charge for upgrading to the "F" level revision. Only thing they could do better would be to have a pool of units that they could send out on an exchange basis to minimize down time.

Bob
RV-10 N442PM
Click to expand...

After a few hours of flying I had my MT governor upgraded from the -B to the -F version. It definitely solved the aforementioned surging problems at high power settings. 75-ish hours and a year later there are no major problems, however...

The darn thing is still not as precise as I think it should be. For example, in stable cruise flight and in the governing range of the prop, if I pitch up or down ever so slightly to change the airspeed, the prop RPM will change too. About a 10 knot change in airspeed results in about a 50 RPM change in prop speed. That should not happen if the prop is in the middle of the governing range. I also get slightly higher RPM on the first takeoff of the day (cold oil) than I do on subsequent takeoffs (hot oil), with the difference being about 25 RPM.

If I were starting over I would not buy an MT governor due to its sloppiness in control. However, the behavior described above isn't annoying enough for me to junk it and buy the PCU-5000X that I really want.
 
Geoff

Mine's exactly the same. I do wonder though how good other units are, or is it just a function of the Dynon being so accurate that these small changes are noticeable?

Comments from PCU-5000X and users of other types.

If I was bying another I don't think I'd go MT but this one's working so I'll stick with it meantime.

Peter
 
kiwipete said:
I do wonder though how good other units are, or is it just a function of the Dynon being so accurate that these small changes are noticeable?
Click to expand...

Possibly, but I can hear the change as well. It usually happens when I'm taking pictures or reading a map or just not paying attention, and it serves as a reminder to get back on altitude.

I don't recall that happening on multiple other constant speed prop planes that I've flown. I could be misremembering, though, because I haven't flown any others in about 10 years.
 
Just say no to the MT governor

I had a brand new MT governor purchased from Van's and it surged 200 rpm. Sure was fun while on approach for landing.

MT Florida claimed it wasn't a safety issue and said to just keep flying the plane as they couldn't repair it at that time(didn't have the parts). It was a B model. If any one is interested in it it's for sale cheap! Less then 2 hours on it.

I bought a PCU5000X. Great governor, great company and great people to deal with. Even discounted the price when I told them I was replacing an MT. It has non of the issues people are stating with the upgraded MT's.

I would never run an MT governor. Van's should not sell the MT governor

Ted
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top