I'm considering spending some money on a mod this winter and for just about the same money, I could either put a 2 blade MT on my stock O-470 or could install the WingX kit. My plane is a 182B and already has a Sportsman STOL kit installed. Any arguments on why I should choose to do one of the other mod? EDIT: I have a hangar with a 60' door, so am not worried about fitting in.

Tough call…. I would probably go with the prop. With a Sportsman your airplane already performs incredibly well. Slower approachable speed last for a small percentage of the time aloft but the prop last 100 percent of the time. Also, prop will reduce your empty weight. Will you hangar accommodate the wing extensions? Just my humble opinion.

Kurt

Thanks for the opinion Kurt, I'm leaning that way as well. My new shared hangar has a 60' wide door, so I'm all set if I decide to add the WingX.

I would definitely go with the MT prop. The MT two blade pulls hard, is fast and takes spinning mass off the nose. This prop is a good STOL mod because it spools quickly and brakes nicely when powering down. Furthermore, the composite blades are “lifetime blades”, because material can be added on when there are nicks and wear. They are very smooth and don’t support harmonic vibration. If you ever decide to upgrade the engine, the prop is approved on about every big bore continental. The blade design is modern and efficient.

Flight Resource offers great customer service and excellent product support.

I am a big fan of my MTs. We run them on four aircraft...

MT prop for sure, you will feel the quick throttle response, braking power for doing steep approaches and 16 pounds off the nose are great on a 182, since you already have the Sportsman adding the 2 blade MT will make a big difference, much more than Wing X.

When is the last time you ran into a performance issue? I mean a real performance issue when you actually got into your books, calculated CG, take off distance, DA , climb over an obstacle etc ? Whatever you needed at the time is my point.

If you are actually doing these calculations on a regular basis then you "might" need to consider the upgrade. Both are good but neither are cheap

MW

Do you run into issues where you run out of room weight wise? If you frequently run into that and would like to haul more then go wingX as you get the GW increase. As usual, mission dependant.

Thanks for all the responses. To be clear, I don't NEED either of these mods, I just think they'd both be fun upgrades. Unfortunately my life is such that I have to spend much more time working than flying, so the money isn't a huge issue, but getting my plane to perform to it's highest potential makes it more fun. And who doesn't like to mod things!? And yes, I realize fully that my best bet is to go fly more, but for some of us, that's just not possible.

So, one more thought that might help me make my decision. One test I read (from a guy who had done the WingX) stated that the stall speed was 8mph slower. If that's the truth, isn't there a case to be made for safety? Driving your plane into the trees at 38mph vs 46mph has to be somewhat more survivable, it would seem....

Pundy wrote:Thanks for all the responses. To be clear, I don't NEED either of these mods, I just think they'd both be fun upgrades. Unfortunately my life is such that I have to spend much more time working than flying, so the money isn't a huge issue, but getting my plane to perform to it's highest potential makes it more fun. And who doesn't like to mod things!? And yes, I realize fully that my best bet is to go fly more, but for some of us, that's just not possible.

So, one more thought that might help me make my decision. One test I read (from a guy who had done the WingX) stated that the stall speed was 8mph slower. If that's the truth, isn't there a case to be made for safety? Driving your plane into the trees at 38mph vs 46mph has to be somewhat more survivable, it would seem....

I wanted to put a WingX on my 182 with the Sportsman STOL and also was thinking about a slower stall speed, I called the guys at Wing X ,since they make an extension for the Sportsman STOL, they told me the stall speed is the same.
Since I dont need to carry heavy loads, I opted to not purchase the WingX.

Cost wise prop really wins. You'll need an overhaul or reseal eventually and this starts the clock over on that plus you may get a few grand for whatever prop you have.

motoadve wrote:

Pundy wrote:Thanks for all the responses. To be clear, I don't NEED either of these mods, I just think they'd both be fun upgrades. Unfortunately my life is such that I have to spend much more time working than flying, so the money isn't a huge issue, but getting my plane to perform to it's highest potential makes it more fun. And who doesn't like to mod things!? And yes, I realize fully that my best bet is to go fly more, but for some of us, that's just not possible.

So, one more thought that might help me make my decision. One test I read (from a guy who had done the WingX) stated that the stall speed was 8mph slower. If that's the truth, isn't there a case to be made for safety? Driving your plane into the trees at 38mph vs 46mph has to be somewhat more survivable, it would seem....

I wanted to put a WingX on my 182 with the Sportsman STOL and also was thinking about a slower stall speed, I called the guys at Wing X ,since they make an extension for the Sportsman STOL, they told me the stall speed is the same.
Since I dont need to carry heavy loads, I opted to not purchase the WingX.

Well that's really interesting. How in the world could more wing area not make your plane slower? I mean, I have to believe the guys who designed it, but it's totally counter intuitive.

Any idea what the MT prop costs these days?

Any real world MT experience out there in off airport conditions? Gravel strips, gravel/unpaved ramps, gravel bars?

My plane is a 0-470 C-180.

I have the wing x and it is pretty cool. A guy can fly around pretty slow and it feels pretty tight.

If you have a standard 40 foot wide hangar you will only have 6 inches of clearance on each side with the Wing X. It makes parking very tricky and not fun/easy. I would go with the MT prop. You will save some weight and improve the CG significantly plus significantly less work swapping props over installing the Wing X.


Josh

I have both. I’d give up my MT prop before I’d give up the WingX.

Arctic Flyer wrote:Any idea what the MT prop costs these days?

Any real world MT experience out there in off airport conditions? Gravel strips, gravel/unpaved ramps, gravel bars?

My plane is a 0-470 C-180.

I have the wing x and it is pretty cool. A guy can fly around pretty slow and it feels pretty tight.

I had them give me a quote last month after receiving their promo card in the mail. The 2-blade for my 182 was around $14k, which was about $1000 off for their “special”. If I remember right that included the freight to me.

I installed the Wing X back in 2013 on my 1956 182. At the time of install I had a Horton cuff, Stock 0-470 & 3 blade Hartzell.
I did it for the 400lb payload increase but also looked forward to the advertised increased performance. Here are my observations:
Wow, it significantly reduced the take off roll and improved the rate of climb.
Slow flight was also reduced. Stall speed was another story too. It just didn't stall. On my bi-annual flight review the instructor wanted me to demonstrate a power on stall. The plane just hung in the air. Just under 35 knots it slowly started to 'mushed' down. He couldn't believe it and asked if he could take command. It was hard for him to wrap his head around the fact a 182 could be flown so slow. After pushing the plane to its limits he gave it back to me. He was absolutely amazed. It flies very stable at 35 knots. The bottom doesn't fall out and it doesn't drop a wing. Instead of a classic stall it just slowly mushes down.
I don't think you would have any disappointments with either choice. The prop would be much easer to install that's for sure.
We should be like Slow18 and just get both.

Thanks for the reply Sam (my name is Sam too!) that's the kind of real world experience I'm interested in hearing about. It sure seems there is safety to be had with a wing that flys that slow. And, I agree, installing both would definitely be the way to go!

I put the wing x on my 66 182 a couple years ago. Already had a sportsman and Vgs. This was already a great wing but wingx made it much better. My experience is similar to Skylanesam’s. Very noticeable improvement across the board….improved takeoff, climb, slower approach, lower stall speed. Increased useful load nice too. Zero regrets. Very, very stable at lower speeds. Very, very noticeable with heavier loads. I have no experience with mt props, so can’t comment there

BlindPilot wrote:I put the wing x on my 66 182 a couple years ago. Already had a sportsman and Vgs. This was already a great wing but wingx made it much better. My experience is similar to Skylanesam’s. Very noticeable improvement across the board….improved takeoff, climb, slower approach, lower stall speed. Increased useful load nice too. Zero regrets. Very, very stable at lower speeds. Very, very noticeable with heavier loads. I have no experience with mt props, so can’t comment there

Thanks Blindpilot. Do you also have VG's on the wing?