PaulSwany

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Hey!! Last night I tried a 11 x 4 wood prop on my Irvine.... All I could get was a Top Flight at the LHS... but I thought I would try it out.....

What a difference!! That Irvine has been hauling around a 12.25 x 3.75 prop forever... I've been wanting that "whip-crack" throttle response and have been playing with the carb settings to get it.... All I needed to do was change the prop!!

I was doing harriers all around the field and hovering lower that I have in a while... just knowing that my engine will spring to life when ever I need it gives me that extra confidence to go for it....

Thanks Jeff for the suggestion... I'm going to buy some Zingers and see if I like 'em better......

bob_nj

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I've been saying for a long time that hoverbatics and 3D are all about three things, Weight, Throttle Response, and prop. I too ran the gammet of carbs and settings. I use the 11x4 wood on my 40~45's most of the time. I'll always prefer wood over anything else, although I've had good luck with the Master Airscrew 11x4 too and use it alot. It gives just the right amount of slippage under most conditions. Have fun_bob

3Dreaming

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Paul, I've found as you have, to get the instant throttle response you need a wood prop. Of the props I've tried Top flight had the least performance for my application. If you can find any Rev-up props they work the best of any I've found in stock form. The Zinger is a good prop to whittle on to improve performance, and it is just OK in stock form. We need a manufacture to step in and make a good line of wood fun fly props. Tom

PaulSwany

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I heard that.... Jeff said you whittled a few props for him... Maybe you can post your process for getting a cool prop....

3Dreaming

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Paul, I will try to post some pics when I get a chance to take some. It is mostly trial and error. The tip profile is like a APC in shape, and the blades are thinned. I start with balancing the stock prop. Then re-shape the tip, and re-balance. Then thin the leading edge, and re-balance. Then the same for the trailing edge. Sand and seal with thin CA, and balance. Now flight test. I don't believe in tach readings the proof is in the flying, and throttle response. The prop that Jeff had started as a 12x4 Zinger. It was a little to much for my HP.40. I use a 11x4 for it. All work can be done with a sanding block with 80 grit paper, then smooth with 220 or finer. You can also try a Dremel with a sanding drum, but it is easier to mess things up. Tom

PaulSwany

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I've got some 12x4 zingers... and an Irvine .53 to run them on.... I'd love to see some before and after shots of the tip profile. You seal with thin CA?? Why not a quick coat of lacquer?

da king

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lets see......i tried 12.5x3.75 and didnt like it even though a couple guys at the field swear by them.i tried a 11x4 and it was great but the hove was too touchy.one more click and it goes up on less click and it comes down.then i tried a 11x5.that worked great untill i tried a 12x4.tons of power but it loaded the motor too much and i could only hover for a little bit before the motor got too hot.i broke my 12x4 landing from a harrier.put the 11x5 back on and the knife edge disaperd!but the climb speed was better.the 12x4 pulls out of the hole but the climb speed is so-so.went all over the place and finally found a LHS that had 11.5x4 in stock.NO THATS A PROP!!!!hover is smooth with a couple clicks were it will hover........the pull is good........knife edge came back and the climb speed is awsome.all props are apc and the motor is 46fx on a 5lb sig se.hopes this helps
good luck

Kevins_RC

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Paul, we use to purchase blanks (so long ago I don't even remember from who, Brodrick racing - or something like that) and carve our own props for pylon racing. We used CA to coat the wood props when we were finished carving on them because it was quick, readiably available, and easy. I'm sure that laquer finish would be fine too, since most of the wood props come that way anyways. I also believe that the thin CA was lighter, and would penetrate into the wood better over the laquer. This way, when you did your final sanding right after you coated it with thin CA, you would hopefully still have some protection from the elements (especially for those guys that fly in the rain LOL) after thelast time that you balance it. As 3Dreaming indicated earlier, there is allot of balancing to be done. Balance between each step. I just don't have the time anymore to mess with it.
Kevin

Billy Hell

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I went and bought some 11x4 and I found an 11x3 and thought I'd give that a try. I don't want to loose my ability to Knife edge though.

JNohsey

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Hey Billy, had an 11x4 apc on both the Sudokhoi and Protwister last Sat, what did you think of how they flew with that prop? I have an 11x4 wood on my Magic, it turns around 14,800 rpm's.

Billy Hell

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I did think your plane was rather snappy. I remember thinking "he's the motor man around here".

3Dreaming

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Paul, the lacquer I had tried would soften when it got fuel on it. This made the props feel sticky. The thin CA is much faster. I didn't have time to do the pictures today , but I should have tomorrow. Tom

rob2817

Is a 12x 10 prop too much for a sig 4 * 60?

Robert

da king

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rob2817 try a 13x4 wide apc. i had one on my cap 232 and i realy like it. a buddy has a 13x6 in his 4*60 and im not impressed. i think if you treat the 4* like a funfly you will like it a lot better. good lick

bugsiegel

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i've been flying the smaller .32 fynflys consistantly for the last two 1 1/2 years and just recently changed to wood.
I ran out of 10/4 APC and had a wood 10/5 laying around so I mounted it. even with the larger pitch I found the engine will spool up much faster. from one prop right to the next on a day of testing props it might be a little harder to tell the difference. But when you have religiously used the same prop for an extended period of time, when you make a change you hear it , feel it and see it right from the line.
When I went to the NCFFA event this summer to watch, every contender was using wood.
the only thing is with wood, a small hit meens time to change the prop. With the plastics I sometimes start out with 11's and usually don't change till I get to about the 9 inch range. when the 46fx starts to sound like a pilon racer it's time to change the prop......

3Dreaming

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Here is before and after pictures of a couple props. The sizes are 11x4, and 14x4. Both started as Zinger props. The stock 14x4 Zinger on my Sledge made it fly terrible, but the modified prop is the best I've found and I've tried a bunch. Tom

PaulSwany

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Wow... That's allot of hackin' and hewin'....... What do you use for a balancer? I'm going to try this with a zinger 12 x 4 and see what I get....

Do you blunt the leading edge at all? use a pitch gauge? sand trailing edge to a point?

da king

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thats sweet but a lot of work

3Dreaming

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14x4's

3Dreaming

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Trailing edge.

3Dreaming

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Leading edge. I use a Dubro balancer, but there other good balancers out there. If they still made Rev-up props in the sizes I want I wouldn't go to the trouble of carving, but the trouble is worth the results. For my HP.40 the only prop that I've found that pulls better is a APC 11x3, but I don't get the throttle response I want. Tom

bugsiegel

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3D you start out with what size prop and you end up with what length?

3Dreaming

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Bugs, In the props I pictured the small one is a 11x4, and the larger is a 14x4. These are the sizes I start with, and I don't try to re-pitch the prop. I try not to shorten any more than needed to get my contour. I do end up with more camber for the airfoil because of the thinning of the leading and trailing edge. Tom

ChuckAuger

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I have a couple of Rev-Up 10X4's...they might work on the HP powered light Sledge. PM me your address if you want them, they are yours....but if you don't want them, no sweat, not gonna hurt my feelings or anything

PaulSwany

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3Dreaming - do you go with a blunt leading edge or to you sharpen it? I though if the le were blunt it would lessen the "stall speed" of the prop... sorta like an airfoil would... Just thinking out loud...