MarkGrabowski

I know this isn't breaking news, but I came across a photo of an interesting wood prop and wanted to get it posted for commentary...

Andy P.

Looks very similar to my Xoar F3a prop, really quiet!

Mike Wiz

My Feedback: (2)

A couple of years ago I bought an 18x10 Xoar electric prop for use on my Hacker C50-10XL. It has a shaft hole big enough to throw a basketball through. I never did come up with a way to shim it down. Have they fixed this? I mean heck, the C50 gearbox output shaft is 8mm x125. There is no need for anything bigger than  that. That's the same size motor shaft I had on my old 100cc BME.

Derek.Koopowitz

The issue I've had with wooden props is that they aren't as effective as the APC or carbon fiber one's... they flex a lot more. A few years ago I got several different sizes of wood props and found out that on average I was about 5-9 amps higher than an APC (at the time) when at full throttle. They were lighter than the APC by 15g but just not worth the extra amps.

Mike Wiz

My Feedback: (2)

It was pulling more amps than say an APC becuse it wasn't flexing as much as the APC, right? Didn't you also see more thrust for those extra few amps? If the design were the same I would not think a wood prop would much different than a CF prop. Of course, this is just speculation on my part. I've never owned a dyno.

Derek.Koopowitz

No, it was pulling more amps because it wasn't as efficient as an APC or CF prop - because it was flexing. I didn't notice any improved performance with the prop at all. I had long conversation with Bryan Hebert about this and his suggestion was to apply CF to the props to stiffen them - he does that to APC props.

Jetdesign

My Feedback: (8)

I've heard from some reputable F3A pilots that glow props on these larger electric motors are the way to go - less flex, more efficient.

The Xoar (glow) wooden props look pretty good and are light - I plan on trying some next season.

I think you would get the benefit of glow prop rigidity with less weight than a glow APC.

Andy P.

Mike,

The Xoar F3a prop is much stiffer than my APC prop and flex's less from what I can see during running. The prop now comes with an 8mm hole as standard and the finish quality is second to none. All of the Xoar props come with their weight indicated on the packet, mine is 86g which is much lighter than an APC. I havn't flown this prop yet so can't comment on performance at this stage but will post back when I have.
On the subject of higher amp draw, the blade on the Xoar has much more area so therefore I would say more drag, I doubt that flexing is the cause of the extra amps given that it flex's less than my APC, again, flight testing and ESC reports will confirm that eventually.

Mike Wiz

My Feedback: (2)

Well, if somebody is selling Xoar props at Toledo this year I might pick one up and give it a try.

tclaridge

Here is my post on using a XOAR after switching from an APC.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10280001

jaaskela

How are the blade trailing edges on those Xoars? So far I've thought/been told that APC props are the quietest and most efficient ones primarily because they have the sharpest trailing edges and cleanest profiles (after you've smoothed out the "ridge" on the leading edge left by the mold). Most wood and carbon props like Menz and Meijzlik come with quite blunt trailing edges and thick tips...