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szicree

Well Known Member
I'm gonna need a prop fairly soon and am torn between Sensenich metal vs. Catto three blade. My mission will be day vfr sport flying with occasional travel. I love the look and performance of the Catto, but the metal prop will be less trouble to maintain. Cost is about same, so not a factor. And it would be great if we could leave out the C/S vs. Fixed debate. Finally, if any body has a great deal on a used prop that could probably settle things for me :D
 
Catto over Sensenich

I've been operating my Catto for over 4 years now off a my gravel runway without any maintenance issues. I prefer the Catto over the Sensenich because of looks, performance, looks, smoothness, looks, quietness, weight and looks. The Catto also doesn't have the 2600 rpm red-line.
These are just my preferences. Your's may be different.
 
Sensenich was helpful

I discovered my then I use Sensenich was cut down 7 1/2" in excess of the minimum recommended. Even though it had been in use for 1000 hours it was an potential disaster. They had available a new unit ( 70CM6S16-0-79 ) which required some additional attention. They sold it as a reconditioned at a considerable savings. Never hurts to ask. I love people who have the imagination to do a deal.
 
Pretty soon

May be the determining factor. Craig's backlog is typically at least 9 months.

Do a search and you will someone who switched from a Sensi to Catto. He gives the direct skinny.

A sensi will be easier to obtain on the used market and will be better maintenance wise.

According to Craig Catto, his 2 & 3 blade props perform the same in climb and cruise, but the 3 is a bit smoother. The 2 is cheaper than the sensi or 3 blade and you can get them pretty quick. IMO a real contender, especially if you use it with a dynamic balancer.

I have no direct knowledge, but reports are that the Catto's and Sensi's cruise about the same, but the Catto climbs better.

Where do you need weight? If you need it in the front, remember that a Catto is less than 1/2 the weight of a Sensi. Less is better IMO unless you need it up front for W&B.

If you are running an O320, the Sensi is RPM limited to 2600. The Sensi for the O360 does not have the same problem, nor does the Catto.

Finally, the Sensi for the 360 just bugs me because they mistakenly cut prototype's tip backwards and stayed with the mistake in production. This was told to me at SNF by the guy who actually did it....

I ordered a Catto 3 blade.

Regards,
 
O-320 Sensenich is certificated

One other minor detail. Although it's not much of a factor for us, the Sensenich metal prop for the O-320 is certificated. The O-360 prop is not.
 
See my recent post

http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=25811&highlight=catto+prince
I may be selling the Prince when I get the Catto back.
 
catto for sale?

Redbeard Mark had a 3 blade catto for sale here not long ago. I don't know if it is still for sale. He switched to a C/S I think.

Marks catto was from an 8A, I don't know if it would be suitable for your airplane. Worth looking into though.
 
szicree said:
I'm gonna need a prop fairly soon and am torn between Sensenich metal vs. Catto three blade. My mission will be day vfr sport flying with occasional travel. I love the look and performance of the Catto, but the metal prop will be less trouble to maintain. Cost is about same, so not a factor. And it would be great if we could leave out the C/S vs. Fixed debate. Finally, if any body has a great deal on a used prop that could probably settle things for me :D
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Steve-
I just ordered my 2-blade from Catto a couple of days ago. It's supposed to be delivered in March. Not sure if you're hung up on the 3-blade or not but, aside from looks and maybe an inch or so of ground clearance (no big deal on a tailwheel), there's really no significant difference in peformance between a 2- and 3-blade, in my opinion. Craig just redesigned the 2-blade, and he seems really excited about it. Cowling and uncowling is also slightly easier with a 2-blade. Saving $500+ over the Sensenich made it a no-brainer for me. If you are interested, Craig's prices go up on Feb. 1. Order before then and a 2-blade will only be $1550 (0-320). $1650 after Feb. 1. Good luck with the decision.
 
I like the tips

whifof100ll said:
Finally, the Sensi for the 360 just bugs me because they mistakenly cut prototype's tip backwards and stayed with the mistake in production. This was told to me at SNF by the guy who actually did it....
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I like the strange looking tips of my Sensenich for the O-360.

It does bog down during climbs but I can not complain about the cruise performance. I have the 85" pitch and can easily go past red line straight and level in both RPM and TAS.
 
Answer

We just had a guy on the field replace his Sensi with a Catto. A screw came loose from the spinner and put a hole directly through the Sensi. The results are amazing. Two blade for two blade. 9 knots increase in cruise and his take off is significantly shorter than before. Looks to be between 200 to 300 feet shorter.

I have another friend that has the 3 blade on his 4. Very Very smooth compared to the two blades. Climbs and cruises with the best of them.
 
sensi vs. catto

I had a sensi for my 0320 160 hp RV-4. I put 300+ hours on it. I put on a catto 2 blade for air racing so I can tell you some numbers.

Sensi 81 inch pitch
Speed at 2600 rpm (max rpm) 164 knots tas (not full throttle)
climb ( field elevation 5100ft various density altitudes both props about the same.
Catto 2 blade 76 inch pitch
speed at 2600 rpm 155 knots tas
speed at 2800 rpm 175 knots tas

I wish I had kept the sensenich for normal operations and only used the catto for air racing. The sensenich was everybit as smooth as the catto just had more mass. With the sensenich you wont have as much weight way out on the end of the crank. It will be closer to the crank flange.

You will be happy with either prop.
 
szicree said:
I believe the Sensi comes with the extension. Not true for the Catto and so cost is about the same.
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Yes, the price has closed a quite a bit since I first made my decision. But, at $1550 + $290 for the prop extension from Van's, you're still saving a couple hundred dollars with the Catto. (Not sure, but that savings might be further reduced by having to buy prop bolts that, I think, come with the Sensenich.)

As good as it is, few people rave about a Sensenich. Quite the opposite with the Catto. That (price + performance + reputation) is what I meant by a "no brainer" in making my decision. Again, good luck with yours.

Different topic: what are the three-blades costing now since the big price increase at Catto? Last time I checked the website price hadn't been updated.
 
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I have a 2 blade CATTO and just ordered my three blade...

I have what can only be described as an amazing 2 blade prop from Craig CATTO. It is smooth, extremely quiet compared to metal prop. Note CATTO have NEVER had a failure 'to quote Craig' and don't suffer form the harmonic issues you get with a metal prop. Because they are wood covered in a lot of glass, they are extremely strong.

Why am I changing? Sex appeal and my need for trip speed. My prop is a climb prop which means that I am sacrificing 10% or so of top end speed at 8k for amazing climb performance.

Check out the video I posted on for a max performance climbe off a short runway. Search for 'Best of 2007' and you will find it on the forums.

FYI. I will be selling my prop, hub, spinner etc. when my new prop arrives in March if anyone is interested. It will have about 100hrs on it, and I will post photo's etc. then. It has prop guard and vortex generators on it.
 
Catto, Catto, Catto.......

I've written on other threads about how much I like my 3 blade Catto.

One downside is that the three blade makes it significantly more challenging to get the bottom cowling off/on. I've gotten better at it, but its still frustrating to me.

Though I haven't tried the 2 blade, I'm sure the 3 blade is smoother and works better for takeoff and climb. Also more ground clearance. On the other hand, I find it hard to believe that the 3 blade is not less efficient for cruise.

If I were buying a prop, I would almost certainly go Catto, but I would give serious consideration to a 2 blade for easier maintenance. It would be a hard choice because I really like the 3 blade.
 
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Good points Steve

To me the bottom line is performance. If a Catto two blade is faster in cruise than a 3 blade, get the 2 blade.
 
Catto 2-blade is an awesome prop. Put one on a Whitman Tailwind to replace a cracked sensenich, airplane climbs and cruises awesome now on 125hp, and Craig nailed it the first time as far as diameter and pitch requirements to do exactly what we wanted.
 
362 days and counting...

...since I ordered my 3 blade Catto. :eek: Fortunately, I'm not yet in a position that I need the prop. If you are seriously thinking about going with this prop, you better order really early!
 
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