Last week I gave the new Vess props a whirl. I ran the 22B on my Taurus 3.2 and Wildhare Edge. The prop performs great. It pulls great on the verticals, and is QUIET. It is surprising how quiet the plane actually is, especially from half throttle up. I now have a favorite prop for my 50cc size planes.

Good to hear, I just orderd a 23b and 23c to try on my 58

So, when did the 50cc props become available?!!!

At least two weeks ago. You can order from their website.

Hi , folks .I have been running a Vess 27A on my ( well run in ) DA 100,6150 rpm static, on a Aeroworks 35% Extra 260 QB. Amsoil 100-1 , 28 lb. 6k ASL, in CO. Mostly IMAC type flying, with some 3D stuff thrown in for kicks. 30+ flights. The general consensus is that the Vess pulls a little bit better than the Menz 27-10 in this application. Downline breaking is good. The prop is, to my ear, louder than the Menz. On the other hand the prop is very cool looking, and they tell me cool is good. Many people ask me at what fine funiture store I bought it. Now that they are available , I will try a 22" er on one of my DA50s and see what happens. Could one of you gentlemen post the web address for Vess? Thanks, Tom

It's http://www.vessaero.com/

Robert Vess sent me two props a 22A and a 23A to demo on one of my DA50's, so maybe I will have a flight report before the end of the weekend..

I put a 23A on my 3W 56 that's in my Wild Hare CAP. I'm at 5000 ft. and it will pull an 18 lbs. plane out of a hover.

I bought a 22A for a Brison 3.2 and a 23A for a Brillelli 60, both of which mounted on draggy aerobatic birds (Ultimate and 30% Yak, respectively).

ANYTHING that looks this good has to work................ but boys, you better be ready to carve a HONKIN' BIG SLOT in your spinner!!!!!!!!

Them babies is THICK-hubbed..........

Just for a comparison, try the 23A on your Brison. I'll bet it will work pretty good on that plane and engine.

I tried the 27B in place of a Mejzlik 27-10. The Vess pulled good but made far more noise. I took it off after that one flight because it was so loud. Maybe my 3W-106 would be better suited for a 28-29" Vess. I'll make someone a good deal on the 27B drilled for 3W and a NIB un-drilled 27C....

That sure is a poor excuse for a web site

Maybe - but you ain't buyin' a website........
Will be interesting to see how these "catch on"...........

I'm hoping they come out with some 20" and 18" props too!!!

Just received three Vess props, all 23B. Put them on the balancer, and found the first was very nearly in perfect balance, rotated very slowly to a point where I will probably add just one or two grams of ballast. The next was absolutely perfect, no rotation whatever from any position I set it at. The third was practically perfect, just a tiny rotation, very slow. I say practically perfect, because I don't think I could balance it any closer--anything I might do to it would probably get me no closer than it is already.

I usually figure with any new package of props I will spend a whole evening balancing. I guess I've done at least a few hundred in my day, blade and hub, including many re-shaping jobs of Zinger paint-stirrers. APC's have a reputation for not needing much balancing, if any, but I've balanced every APC I ever had. Beautiful Mejzliks, same thing. This batch from Vess is the only sample I've ever had that two out of three were beyond improving. A+ for them!

I'm told they pull good too. We'll see about that tomorrow.

Explanation for 'adding ballast:' On larger props I don't remove anything to balance, I add either a small blob of thickened epoxy for light ballast, or a tiny bit of lead (snipped off a coil of plumber's solder), and I add it somewhere around the hub, within the area that stays under the spinner, at the high spot of the first balance, add or subtract ballast until it will hold any angle in the balancer without moving. However, when I re-shape a Zinger (for smaller glow engines, where I want to keep weight out of the nose) then I remove almost half the weight of the prop, take a lot of thickness out of the blade, keep the airfoil, lose the square tips.

How do you attach the solder to the prop hub? I use aluminum tape - on the hub and/or tip until it holds any position on the balancer.

Mark

Aluminum tape sounds like a not bad idea, I'll have to try that sometime. With the solder, I stick it to the prop with a bit of masking tape to hold it in position. When I get the right amount of lead, I put it on the anvil part of my shop vise, give it a quick blast with a torch and it melts up into a little ball. I pound the ball flat to give me plenty of sticking area and then either a dab of hot melt glue or epoxy. I nip off a bit from my flat piece to compensate for the weight of the glue. Usually my ballast pounds out to about the area of a dime up to maybe a quarter.

I like the tape. On the prop tip, you take a large piece and stick the edge of it to the prop. Then cut away pieces until the prop balances, and stick down the rest.

You do need to rough up the area a bit and clean it with alchohol, or the tape will come off over time - especially at the tip.