RE: Propellers
It isn't a requirement to make the prop, but last year, we built our own prop and it gave about 15% more thrust for a given rpmthan the commercially available props we have used in years past. The biggest problem with our custom propeller was that it was made out of Baltic Birch, and it was so heavythat the engine couldn't swing the prop at its design rpm. Therefore, we think that a lighter prop would give us a substantial performance increase. I just want to make sure that we understand the best materials and best construction methods before we begin, because due to our lack of wood-machining knowledge, the process of making the propeller last year took too long and had too many imperfections. Additionally, the shape of our custom prop is very different from the shapes of commercially available props, at least the ones that I've seen, so Idon't think that we can triman existing propeller to match our custom prop.