Comparative weights of propellers
 

I am trying to get an idea of how light a wood prop is compared to a composite thats made by APC. I measures a 15x4W APC prop that turned out 70 grams (2.4oz). How much lighter would a comparative wood or carbon prop be?
Thanks.

RE: Comparative weights of propellers
 

Although I can't do an absolute comparison I can give you these figures.
MA (black) 12x6 @ 34 grams
Bolly CF 11.75x4.25 @ 32 grams
Zinger wood 12x5 @ 19 grams

Bolly CF 3 blade 11.5x4.25 @ 36 grams
Eather CF 3 blade 11.25x4 @ 24 grams

The Eather prop might seem surprising considering it's got one more blade than the Zinger wood but they're probably the best CF prop you can buy even though here in Oz they cost about the same as the Bolly. The moral of the story is not all CF props are the same :)

RE: Comparative weights of propellers
 

Thanks for the reply. You seemed to have played with many different props. Which do you prefer between carbon, wood and nylon reinforced props? So far, I have used only reinforced nylons(APC).

RE: Comparative weights of propellers
 

My preference is for wood props. They're about as accurately (or inaccurately :) ) made as the usual "plastic" props but wood has no fatigue life so it can't develop any cracks. Because they're so much lighter gyroscopic precession is far less in violent manoeuvres. They're tougher than you might think too, I've had nose overs at take off with my 12" Zingers at 8000 revs and all it did was stop the engine :)

A good CF prop of course is much more efficient than anything else but you pay for it. Their other advantage is that you can repitch them to some extent with a little heat and a pitch guage.

RE: Comparative weights of propellers
 

the 15/5 and 15/4 wood zinger pro weigh app. 1 oz.. If your looking for light weight and efficiency these are the best wood props in this size. I have done some sharpening and thinning of these wood zingers and have been able to improve them quite a bit. they still will not produce the total all out thrust that the apc 15/4w does. The zingers will now out perform the apc in every other respect except full throttle total torque.

RE: Comparative weights of propellers
 

1 Oz. is light!!!! The 15 x 4W APC is 2.5 oz. Iam definitely going to
try wood props. WOnder why they don't make the 15 x 4W in wood. Maybe I'll just shape one out of beech wood block.
Anyway, thanks for all your input

RE: Comparative weights of propellers
 

the 15/4 and 15/5 wood zinger pro's are new additions to zinger's line-up. they do not have the "W" designation but are pretty wide (not as wide as the apc 15/4w)

In their stock configuration they under perform the apc 15/4w in every respect.

RE: Comparative weights of propellers
 

Maybe it's time we saw some funfly props in wood. I am eagerly waiting for those. Do you suppose there is a technical reason for not making them out of wood so far (I mean 15x4w s)?

RE: Comparative weights of propellers
 

If APC could do something about the weight of their props, I would use them on everthing.
The big, thick hubs just seems to be overkill for 3D and funflys where weight is a big issue.
That 15x4W is even heavier yet.
I've used the 15x4 Zinger and liked it.
It's maybe a third of the APC's weight.

Kirk

RE: Comparative weights of propellers
 

What about the carbon fiber props on the market like bolly? How do these props compare to the APC's and Zingers?