Press Releases

Kit provides Mooney M20A-G and M20J operators with increased cruise performance.

PIQUA, Ohio –July 23, 2007 – Hartzell Propeller Inc. announced today that it has received an STC to install a newly designed, two- bladed 74″ diameter blended airfoil Top Prop performance conversion kit onto Mooney M20A-G and M20J models. Hartzell optimized the new blended airfoil design to deliver greater cruise performance at higher airspeeds. Flight tests with an M20F have confirmed an increase of 2-4 knots in normal cruise over the original Hartzell 2- bladed propeller while maintaining equivalent climb performance. The improvement in cruise was achieved at the expense of a slightly longer take-off roll that has been observed at about an extra 3%.

“Tests also confirmed that performance levels increased along with power settings and airspeed levels. So the higher the airspeed and the higher the power settings the greater the performance improvement that we observed in cruise levels,” said Mike Trudeau, Director of Hartzell’s Top Prop Performance Conversion program.

Restrictive placards on the A-D, G and J aircraft have been removed entirely while the restriction on the E and F models has been reduced to simply no continuous operation above 24″ of manifold between 2350 and 2550 RPM.

On all models of the aicraft, the repetitive inspections required by AD2006-18-15 have been eliminated.

The new Mooney Top Prop kit comes complete with the propeller, a highly-polished spinner, STC paperwork and the exclusive Hartzell Plus Three™ warranty, which delivers a full three years or 1000 hours of coverage, at a list price of $6,995.

With more than 14,000 kits sold, Hartzell Top Prop Propeller Conversions offer pilots one of the easiest and most economical methods for improving the value of their aircraft. 60 different Beech, Cessna, Commander, Diamond, Mooney, Piper, and SOCATA kits are currently available, making the Top Prop family the largest and most complete propeller conversion offering in the world.

Hartzell Propeller Inc. is widely recognized as the leader in advanced propeller design and manufacturing technology. The company has recently developed the next generation of propeller based upon innovative “blended airfoil” technology and is manufacturing these blades on revolutionary machining centers or with its new ASC-II™ composite technology to provide mission optimized performance for its customers. Hartzell traces its beginnings in 1917 to a relationship with Orville Wright and was founded on the principal of “Built on Honor” – a tradition that continues today.