> We've got some Madra droop-tips on our straight-wing -180. Although we've
> enjoyed their
> performance (good slow-flight characteristics, unchanged cruise/top
> speed), my partner on the plane can't
> stand the looks. So, we're looking to put Hoerner-style ones on. As far
> as I can tell, there are at
> least 6 different manufacturers/varieties:
>

..stuff snipped

I flew our 74 140 for a couple of years and a couple of hundred hours before
I put on the Met-co's. If there was a difference, I could not tell. My main
reason for the switch was cosmetic. The old stock tips were pretty crazed up
and flimsy.

I believe the weights sticking out or not is determined by what year your
plane is and not the tip design. Mine don't stick out but some of the 60's
Cherokees on the ramp do - stock tips or Hoerner style. I have also seen
several with the landing lights. Every one of the lenses is in some state of
cloudiness. How much do you REALLY fly at night? What can't you do with the
stock landing light? Maybe spot the deer you will hit anyway 3 seconds
earlier? Our instructor had us land quite a few times at night without the
light to show us there was nothing magical about the light (and stress that
they DO go out pretty often).

These things come without mounting holes so you have to make them. I used
the "masking tape trick" and it worked pretty well. Took about 2 hours once
the old ones were off and any bunged up speed nuts were replaced. Getting
the old tips off can be a real pain if lots of the hardware is rusted
together. Since you already have replacement tips you may not have such a
hard time getting them off IF the installer did not go gorilla on the
screws.

I paid about $500 for the set back in '97. I installed them and my wrench
signed them off. At today's price with mechanic you are probably looking at
$1000 or so. YIKES!

Good Luck,
Mike

On Sun, 2 Aug 2009 18:52:35 -0500, "Mike Spera"
> wrote:

>> We've got some Madra droop-tips on our straight-wing -180. Although we've
>> enjoyed their
>> performance (good slow-flight characteristics, unchanged cruise/top
>> speed), my partner on the plane can't
>> stand the looks. So, we're looking to put Hoerner-style ones on. As far
>> as I can tell, there are at
>> least 6 different manufacturers/varieties:
>>
>
>.stuff snipped
>
>I flew our 74 140 for a couple of years and a couple of hundred hours before
>I put on the Met-co's. If there was a difference, I could not tell. My main
>reason for the switch was cosmetic. The old stock tips were pretty crazed up
>and flimsy.
>

mike
the old stock tips can be restored pretty easily.
the ones I restored are still pretty schmik some 9 years later.

you sand off all the outer paint and filler back to the glass base.
then you lay up two layers of lightweight glass cloth using epoxy.
do it neatly. allow to cure.
sand it off until any raised bits are removed, ie so that it is
smoothish but you can still see the weave.

leave the outside for the moment.
sand the inside back to the glass and lay up 1 or 2 layers of fine
glass cloth. allow to cure

back to the outside and you mix up a paste of epoxy and talcum powder
or other fine filler. screed this on with a spatula to fill the weave.
allow to cure then sand back until smooth.
prep and paint the tip.

there is no need to throw away old tips.

the technique also works on mushy crazed nosebowls. just degrease them
as the first step.

Stealth Pilot

No worries. Old tips were "recycled" to local FBO airplane. I know the
fiberglass drill. I repaired Corvettes in the 60s and 70s (Man, am I gettin'
old!). I just like the looks of the Hoerner style. The old rounded tips made
the plane look "old" to me.

Thanks for the procedure.

Mike
"Stealth Pilot" > wrote in message
...
> On Sun, 2 Aug 2009 18:52:35 -0500, "Mike Spera"
> > wrote:
>
>>> We've got some Madra droop-tips on our straight-wing -180. Although
>>> we've
>>> enjoyed their
>>> performance (good slow-flight characteristics, unchanged cruise/top
>>> speed), my partner on the plane can't
>>> stand the looks. So, we're looking to put Hoerner-style ones on. As
>>> far
>>> as I can tell, there are at
>>> least 6 different manufacturers/varieties:
>>>
>>
>>.stuff snipped
>>
>>I flew our 74 140 for a couple of years and a couple of hundred hours
>>before
>>I put on the Met-co's. If there was a difference, I could not tell. My
>>main
>>reason for the switch was cosmetic. The old stock tips were pretty crazed
>>up
>>and flimsy.
>>
>
> mike
> the old stock tips can be restored pretty easily.
> the ones I restored are still pretty schmik some 9 years later.
>
> you sand off all the outer paint and filler back to the glass base.
> then you lay up two layers of lightweight glass cloth using epoxy.
> do it neatly. allow to cure.
> sand it off until any raised bits are removed, ie so that it is
> smoothish but you can still see the weave.
>
> leave the outside for the moment.
> sand the inside back to the glass and lay up 1 or 2 layers of fine
> glass cloth. allow to cure
>
> back to the outside and you mix up a paste of epoxy and talcum powder
> or other fine filler. screed this on with a spatula to fill the weave.
> allow to cure then sand back until smooth.
> prep and paint the tip.
>
> there is no need to throw away old tips.
>
> the technique also works on mushy crazed nosebowls. just degrease them
> as the first step.
>
> Stealth Pilot