What are the preferred propellers for the 175 (and now 185)? It seems that APC is still the preferred propeller, however based on a conversation I had with Mike Harrison at the Nats this year, the big drawback on the APC is weight. Are there any Falcon or Mejzlik propellers that will provide enough performance without the weight penalty? I'd love to see a four-bladed prop appropriately sized for the larger YSs (bonus points if it's carbon fiber) as I always preferred the feeling of the airplane with a four-blade prop, over several designs and from the 140 to the 170.
I've used 20 x 10.5PN, 20.5 x 10PN and the 21 x 10WPN props and I prefer the 20 x 10.5PN. This weighs in at 157g as oppsed to 173g for the other two props and gives a very good speed range for all weathers. I've tried using both 20 x 10 and 21 x 10 Mejzlik props and are much lighter (21 x 10 was 135g). However the noise was unacceptable, my understanding being the power pulse from the 4 stroke exciting the very undamped structure of the carbon propeller giving a horrible in-flight tone. Hence I went back to APC; other than the weight, they're ideal.
Might be worth borrowing a carbon prop to see how you find them rather than shelling out a lot of money for them just to be dissapointed?
Keith