Hi
The talk on climb performance reminds me when I was doing my training in the Gazelle.All my previous flying experience was in gliders so the noisy vibration up front took some getting used to. The woodern prop on the aeroplane always used to concern me as it always had cracks on the tips that were glued and reglued when I voiced my concerns to the school owner he assured me that all was in order and this was the norm with wooden props but I still felt uneasy..
The Gazelle had climb performance simular to what has been previously mentioned around 200-250 fpm loaded with two people in summer and not much better in winter. However when the prop was replaced with a carbon prop ( not legal I know, the school does not exist now ) the climb rate increased to round 600 fpm on simular days, says something for carbon props I think.
Regards
John