So if one were looking at 3400 hour engines... what's to know about this program. Trying to learn all I can. Does anyone have any experience with it and any gotchas?

I can only speak about the MORE program from an appraisal perspective and generally, I do not value the engines with the additional TBO hours. There are two general issues.

First, owners are found not following the STC even though they claim to be doing similar monitoring. The claim may or may not be true but if there is evidence that the STC is not being followed then they are essentially running the engine over TBO.

Second, feedback the NAAA has received from the engine shops regarding engines on the MORE program are not good (i.e., overhaul costs are generally higher).

Owners may like the longer TBOs but I am not sure if it pays off at the time of O/H.

Good luck.

Depends what your intention is with the engines.

The MORE Program was designed for high utilization PT135 operators to run the engines up to 9000 hours and then likely scrap them.

If you are PT91 you can run your PT6A past TBO without the MORE Program, but you still need to do the HSI at the specified intervals. You also have to find an IA comfortable signing off the annuals on the over TBO engine.

Running past TBO you will have more wear on parts and if you eventually OH the engine it will cost more then if you did the OH at TBO. By the time you have run a PT6A to 9000 hours the OH cost is probably greater then the cost of a new engine.

That's interesting, the MORE program takes the PT6 from 3600 tbo to 8,000. Seems like it would need to more than double the overhaul cost to NOT be worth it, no?

That's interesting, the MORE program takes the PT6 from 3600 tbo to 8,000. Seems like it would need to more than double the overhaul cost to NOT be worth it, no?

The point above about value is spot on, if you plan on keeping the airplane then MORE is probably the way to go. If you may sell it in a few years I would take a good look at Blackhawks. The first 500 hours of a set of new motors doesn't devalue the aircraft much, in fact the airplane will sell with 500 hour motors very close to what it would bring with 0 time.

The other great thing about doing the Blackhawk STC is that the engines themselves retain their value really well. We purchased the 750 hour 135A's off of Garmin's C90 for a client, we paid $450k plus our -21 cores.

Did you mean the airplane has 3400 hours on new 135A's?

If so by all means overhaul them! The cost will be relatively low and the value retention huge.

in digging more today, I have discovered this is not 135A blackhawks but the older 135 Blackhawk conversions.

MORE program and parts roughly $30,000
Hot Section Inspection because of an AD now on PT-6 for Containment Ring and some other "past experience" parts $37,000

Soo.. $65K for Hot Section parts to "run on".. Then more maintenance later.. as dictated by inspection on MORE program..

135A upgrade about $500,000 in engines "roughly"".

in digging more today, I have discovered this is not 135A blackhawks but the older 135 Blackhawk conversions.

MORE program and parts roughly $30,000
Hot Section Inspection because of an AD now on PT-6 for Containment Ring and some other "past experience" parts $37,000

Soo.. $65K for Hot Section parts to "run on".. Then more maintenance later.. as dictated by inspection on MORE program..

135A upgrade about $500,000 in engines "roughly"".