Best wood prop for a 150hp RV-3?

[Rosie]

I have a buddy (who does not own a computer) and he flies a 150hp RV-3. He has an old no-name wood prop and would like to replace it. Can somebody out there please recommend a prop that would work for SPEED (he's not worried about climb). Thank you very much, Rosie

[Captain_John]

Goin' out on a limb here, but I seem to recall Catto. It is a composite job, as I recall.

Does this sound right? Anything better?

CJ

[Mel]

Rosie,
I've got some experience with wood props for RVs. The optimum prop depends somewhat on the altitude. The sensenich wood prop works great at altitude because of it's wide blade planform, but it does load the engine at the lower altitudes where the air is thick. I ran a Sensenich wood on my -6 for several years. It performed wonderfully above 10,000' but at 640' MSL I could only static 2050 rpm. For lower altitudes a narrow blade planform seems to work better. I eventually went with the Catto 3-blade. Now I static just over 2300. My takeoff roll is 17% shorter and my cruise is the same (201 mph tas at 75%). Of course this is a composite prop and the cost and lead time is greater than wood.
Hope this helps.
Mel...DAR

[Rosie]

Thanks Captain John and Mel. The plane is based at Rosamond, elevation ~2400 ft for anyone else who'd like to put in their $0.02. Rosie

[Hawkeye7A]

You may want to check out Ed Sterba. He makes wood props for a number of applications, even including airboats. I've got one I got along with a run-out engine I'm having overhauled. Unfortunately, I can't comment on the performance as my -7A isn't finished yet. The main reason I mention it is that they are very affordable. The one for mine is less than $600 new. If you email him what airplane and hp you're using he'll get right back to you on what the optimum diameter and pitch would be. The prop I got with my engine had several hundred hours on it(it had come off a -4) and he re-finished it for less than what it cost to ship. He has a lot of good information on his website.

http://www.greatplainsas.com/ed.html

[mikesrv6]

I can't comment on Sterba vs other wood props. But the Sterba prop I had was almost identical in performance to the Sensenich metal prop. In fact the cruise speed were the same but the Sterba climbed at a higher rpm, and cruised at a lower rpm. Considering metal props are supposed to be faster it sounds like Sterba must know something.

[tacchi88]

We have three in our midst in various ACs. They are excellent props, aided and abetted with excellent service, delivery, as well as prices.