So this happened today. Now what? ☺️

[danny_galaga]

I think down the track,once I want to actually go places, my lovely wooden propeller will have to go 😞 . Cruise right now is 70knts at 5200 rpm. It can easily redline during takeoff. 

 

I'll get something ground adjustable to tune it. 

 

But for now there's no point since it's not going far for a while...

[facthunter]

You just need a better wood prop. Correct dia and pitch angle. and have a direct drive. Nev

[danny_galaga]

1 hour ago, facthunter said:

You just need a better wood prop. Correct dia and pitch angle. and have a direct drive. Nev

Would love the right propeller in wood. They look lovely ☺️

 

But I can't afford to play around with several different propellers until I hit the jackpot. So I will probably go ground adjustable. But no rush. Not much change out of three grand for a prop now. When I bought this prop about six years ago, it was roughly $1600.

 

Not quite sure what you mean by direct drive. Rotax 912 has a gearbox. It's not really an option.

Edited February 1 by danny_galaga

[facthunter]

I know  You are stuck with it. . Have a fly in a 6 cyl Jab with a wood prop on it.  Nev

[kgwilson]

I still have a wooden prop for my 6cy Jab engined aircraft but it isn't a patch on the ground adjustable 2 blade Bolly Bos 5 I have installed now. The Bolly is lighter far more chip resistant and tunable to they type of flying I do. It has several weaves of carbon fibre and reinforced with glass strands and kevlar with a toughened replaceable leading edge.

[Marty_d]

My Bolly was around $1800 3 years ago, have they increased that much?

[danny_galaga]

20 minutes ago, Marty_d said:

My Bolly was around $1800 3 years ago, have they increased that much?

No. Was just looking at prices now. I was keen on a Sensenich, because they have a really neat system for adjusting pitch. But then I looked at Bolly and it's probably going to be about HALF the price of the Sensenich 😯. At that difference, I can live with a slightly fiddlier setting up stage 📐 

😄

 

And of course Bolly are Aussie ☺️

 

If only they made a wooden prop - it would be a Bollywood 😃

[facthunter]

Of course the performance will be down a bit but they "feel" different and you can't get a more safe prop. I'm also relating to the SIX cylinder motor which is far nicer than any four. is.  Nev

[spacesailor]

There is / was a ground adjustable wooden propeller .

Same hub as the FRP .

spacesailor

Edited February 1 by spacesailor

[facthunter]

Just makes it more dangerous and heavier. The hubs in the bigger 3 blade adjustable are FORGED steel. There's a lot of load in there. It all requires servicing and inspections. BIG money.  Nev

[Marty_d]

Just now, facthunter said:

Just makes it more dangerous and heavier. The hubs in the bigger 3 blade adjustable are FORGED steel. There's a lot of load in there. It all requires servicing and inspections. BIG money.  Nev

Milled aluminium in most of the small ground adjustable ones.

[facthunter]

Yes Billet  Dural (hopefully)and CNC'd Probably the best for that job in light stuff. The problem  is the sizing of the Blade ends where it turns and 'Lifing composites .  Chucking  blades is not a good idea. Nev

[danny_galaga]

1 hour ago, facthunter said:

Yes Billet  Dural (hopefully)and CNC'd Probably the best for that job in light stuff. The problem  is the sizing of the Blade ends where it turns and 'Lifing composites .  Chucking  blades is not a good idea. Nev

As far as I'm aware, blades coming off in ultralights is pretty rare. But it was in the back of my mind when I went for my good old fashioned laminated single piece wooden propeller ☺️

[Thruster88]

4 hours ago, facthunter said:

Yes Billet  Dural (hopefully)and CNC'd Probably the best for that job in light stuff. The problem  is the sizing of the Blade ends where it turns and 'Lifing composites .  Chucking  blades is not a good idea. Nev

Bolly test their propellers with a V8 engine and spin them to well in excess of there design speed. I like by 2 blade bolly on the 582 rotax.

[kgwilson]

The Bolly hubs are precision CNC formed, gold anodised Duralite and the blades are micron perfect fit. Every bit of hardware down to the washers is fully documented, with batch numbers, weights etc as of course it should be. They are quality products locally manufactured and are up there with the best in the world. They all come with detailed instructions & charts on assembly, installation, balancing, pitch adjustment etc. There are not many Australian manufacturers left that I can say that about them.

[facthunter]

Anodising is only a "colour" in the oxidised surface. A DYE. No GOLD involved. Dural is mostly coated with pure aluminium as Its more corrosive than Pure Al. Aircraft skins are preferably alclad. Dural (TN) is usually heat treated for max strength. . Many large Aircraft Spars are made of duralumin. It's an alloy.  Nev

[danny_galaga]

22 hours ago, kgwilson said:

The Bolly hubs are precision CNC formed, gold anodised Duralite and the blades are micron perfect fit. Every bit of hardware down to the washers is fully documented, with batch numbers, weights etc as of course it should be. They are quality products locally manufactured and are up there with the best in the world. They all come with detailed instructions & charts on assembly, installation, balancing, pitch adjustment etc. There are not many Australian manufacturers left that I can say that about them.

Guys, I'm sold! Will still be a while but when it comes time to upgrade my prop I'm getting a Bolly for sure 🙂