Prop tape

[brad walton]

I put prop tape on my Catto 3 blade prop today. In all fairness, I did a less than perfect but OK job of applying it. Struggled a bit with bubbles and getting them deflated and smoothed. Afterward I went flying and found a decrease in performance of just less than 4% at 2700 rpm. This amounts to the equivalent of a decrease of 11 horsepower if I did the math right. I took the tape off.

[turbo]

ditto. no tape here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDPjNFtOBDI

[roadrunner20]

Was the prop tape you applied purchased from Catto?
Previously I used Prop Guard from ACS & it worked well without any performance issues. I've had Catto's on the shelf for about a year & haven't had a chance to apply it.
With your experience I might defer.

[Robert Anglin]

Originally Posted by brad walton

I put prop tape on my Catto 3 blade prop today. In all fairness, I did a less than perfect but OK job of applying it. Struggled a bit with bubbles and getting them deflated and smoothed. Afterward I went flying and found a decrease in performance of just less than 4% at 2700 rpm. This amounts to the equivalent of a decrease of 11 horsepower if I did the math right. I took the tape off.

Aw, please leave it on. I want to be able to catch you at Reno with my old ugly two blade Prince and this run down engine of mine. I was thinking it would be worth a beer or two. Sounds good to me. Yours, R.E.A. III #80888

[brad walton]

Yes it was tape from Catto. I had noticed some chips in the paint on the leading edge and decided to protect it from further chips with tape. A couple more tries and maybe I would be able to put it on without any bubbles or other defects. 4% degradation in performance really isn't that much, but I'm too used to how well the prop performs without it.
Robert we'll have to see, but I expect it to be a toss up. You are still welcome to stop for a beverage any time.

[lr172]

Originally Posted by brad walton

I put prop tape on my Catto 3 blade prop today. In all fairness, I did a less than perfect but OK job of applying it. Struggled a bit with bubbles and getting them deflated and smoothed. Afterward I went flying and found a decrease in performance of just less than 4% at 2700 rpm. This amounts to the equivalent of a decrease of 11 horsepower if I did the math right. I took the tape off.

Did this reduce your RPM by 4% or TAS by 4% ? Also, did you use the .008" or .016" tape?

I had higher TAS during phase I and could never figure out what I don't get the same today. I had attributed it to Static errors, though I was doing GPS validation. After phase I testing, I put prop tape on and you've got me thinking that I have a similar issue.

Larry

[lr172]

Originally Posted by turbo

ditto. no tape here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDPjNFtOBDI

At the amount of hours your fly, you must be exposed to rain. Do you reduce RPM in these cases? If not, have you experienced any wear or pitting?

I am wondering if I should go naked here like you guys.

Larry

[brad walton]

Larry, my 4% reduction was true airspeed at 2700 rpm. Not sure what mil the tape was.

[AX-O]

Originally Posted by brad walton

Larry, my 4% reduction was true airspeed at 2700 rpm. Not sure what mil the tape was.

What is 4% equal to in Knots or MPH loss?

[brad walton]

178 ktas down to 172 ktas at 2700 rpm. So that is more precisely 3.5%.