In case there's anyone outside our little campfire circle looking in and hoping to glean a speed secret or two, I'd like to re-emphasize a point already made: "Copy the APC into wood".

How's that, you say? Why laboriously copy, in fragile wood, an item you can buy for $8.00 in durable plastic? Because wood is a live material and it flexes. It will de-pitch under load and give better acceleration out of the turns. The original wood propeller that Chip Hyde used, and which was used as the basis for the APC molded plastic prop, was actually BETTER than the plastic copy (although the plastic one is certainly no slouch).

Without taking sides on the whole "let Fred save us with more choices" issue, I'll venture to say that prop-carving has never been easier than it is now. With one APC to study from, plus the right tools and a few minutes' time, you can convert any number of Zinger 8" x 7" or similar blanks into your own little clone army. Some will be better than others -- that's the way it is with wood -- but if the air's too thick or your engine's too tired to spin the plastic one, you can trim down one of the wood ones as needed.

I had exactly one good run at the Nats, and that was after I decided the APC just wasn't gettin' the job done so I threw caution to the winds and put on a 7-1/4" toothpick. That was good for 5 seconds, almost a lap! Next time I won't wait so long.