Kenny Meines of Turbine Motor Conversions brought something pretty impressive to AirVenture last year, his own custom Murphy Moose with a Pratt & Whitney PT-6 hanging on the nose. It’s a real backcountry rocket ship, building on Murphy’s solid foundation by kicking things up a notch, or two. Meines said his converted aircraft pulls off 200 mph cruise speeds to the tune of about 25 gallons an hour of Jet A, a stone’s throw away from the fuel burn of the handsome (but slower) M14 radial engine seen on other Mooses.
Thanks to the homegrown nature of the Moose, builders can tailor their aircraft to the mission, whether that means leaving it with a stock 100 gallons in the wings, or grabbing Meines’ new project: A 50-gallon belly tank to add another couple hours of cruise. Of course, like any whiz-bang turboprop installation, it doesn’t come cheap. Meines said there’s a pretty good selection of mid-time PT6-20s out there on the market, which make for a pretty good engine in a private aircraft.
Moose pilots can budget about $250,000 for the conversion and come off unsurprised at the cash register. Meines said the Murphy family is seeing a resurgence, thanks to its off-airport performance and affordable build. If the lookie-loos at AirVenture were any indication, a Murphy is a real head-turner on the flight line, especially when you add a turbine to the front of it!
Aero-TV is a production of the Internationally syndicated Aero-News Network. Seen worldwide by hundreds of thousands of aviators and aviation adherents, ANN's Aero-TV has produced well over 5000 aviation and feature programs, including over 2500 episodes of our daily aviation news program, AIRBORNE UNLIMITED, currently hosted by Holland Lee. Now in its third decade of operation, parent company Aero-News Network, has the most aggressive and intensive editorial profile of any aviation news organization and has published well over a half-million news and feature stories since its inception -- having pioneered the online 24/7 aviation new-media model that so many have emulated.
Runway Entrance Lights (REL) An array of red lights which include the first light at the hold line followed by a series of evenly spaced lights to the runway edge aligned with the >[...]
Also: Daher Climate Policy, Boeing Reveal, Another Laser Whacko, Spirit Proceeds Textron eAviation is putting the development of its Nexus eVTOL aircraft on hold, meaning its first>[...]
Also: SUN ‘n FUN’s EarlyBird, Rotax Advanced Start, Girls in Aviation Day, Lockwood RV-916! The recently concluded Midwest Aviation Expo, hosted by the Mt. Vernon Outla>[...]
Also: Commercial A/C Certification, GMR Adds More Bell 429s, Helo Denial, John “Lucky” Luckadoo Flies West CAF’s Col. Mark Novak has accumulated more than 1,000 f>[...]
Also: Carrier Landings Not Required, UAL To Tel Aviv, ATC in College, EMAS Systems Stop 2 Swift Fuels 100R unleaded fuel has earned ASTM production specification approval. This 100>[...]
ANN's Daily Aero-Term (09.10.25): Runway Entrance Lights (REL)
See All