Your mileage may vary ....
On the SAME aircraft, I have flown the following:
O-320 (160 HP) with
- Ed Sterba 2-blade Fixed Pitch Wood Prop (~1000 hours)
- MT 2-blade Fixed Pitch Composite Prop
- Catto 3-blade Fixed Pitch Composite Prop
- Hartzell 2-blade Constant Speed Metal Prop
O-340 (~175-180 HP ???) with
- Catto 3-blade Fixed Pitch Composite Prop
- Whirlwind 2-blade Ground Adjustable Composite Prop
- Whirlwind 2-blade Constant Speed Composoite Prop
First, ALL of these companies have been great to work with.
Second, EACH of the props did what they were DESIGNED to do.
Now, some comments.
The plane was built with the Ed Sterba prop. WE were keeping the costs down and that is what I got used to with the plane. It was smooth, and if I wanted to run the RPM up a bit, I could go rather fast. For the RPM, I was most comfortable with though, I planned for 150KTS.
It was with this prop that I got my FFI Formation Checkride done. A lot more work (anticipation) than with a CS prop, but doable.
The biggest downside was if I was flying with friends and there was rain, I had to slow down and *some* of my friends were NOT into slowing down.
I decided to try the new MT 2-blade prop with metal leading edge. The assumption that I would not have to slow down as much. That prop too was smooth, and I could get over 170KTS if I ran up the RPM, but after some other issues, I decided to send it back to MT for a refund.
I later got the opportunity to get a 3-blade Catto with leading edge metal. It was REALLY smooth. Looked great and flew great. I changed it out later when I needed to do some engine work and had a good deal on a CS setup for my engine.
Thus the Hartzell. This made my formation flying much better and this was about the time that I was getting more serious about it and "Team RV" (now Team AeroDynamix) as the airshow team was coming into its own. So it was NEEDED! I sold the Catto to a friend with an RV9A with IO-320 and he LOVES its. Actually, he is now on his third or fourth as he keeps upgrading when something new comes out.
For the type of flying that I NOW do, the Hartzell CS was the best answer.
- Acceleration/Deceleration
- Weight on the nose
There is the bonus of shorter take-off runs as well.
Fast forward to my need/decision to "upgrade" my engine to the ECI 340 "Stroker".
I could not use my existing Hartzell on it (the old one was for the 160 HP O-320)
And, after much discussion with Hartzell, we mutually decided that at this time the the harmonics they were seeing with that engine and their props was not something either of us wanted to experiment with just yet.
I discovered that Cattol and Whirlwind had props that they were willing to make available for the O-340.
Sooooo.... I called up and got a Catto for it. Great experience with Nicole.
Unfortunately, after just a few minutes of flight, I found that the one they made for it needed a LOT more byte (as in start over with a new prop) and they had a long lead time. And, my plane had been down long enough already getting the engine upgraded. So back it went. (Thanks Nicole!)
I figured that the Ground Adjustable from Whirlwind would allow me to "dial it in". And my buddies had had good experiences with Whirlwind. I get one. Dial it in and .....
After flying with the CS prop, the take-off roll, acceleration and deceleration for formation was not what I wanted FOR MY KIND OF FLYING.
The prop and the Whirlwind people were GREAT! Can't say enough good things about them and their prop (like the Catto) but it was not my cup of tea.
Fortunately, the same blades are available in a CS version. So I got one of those and that is what is on the plane now.
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The summary of all of this long winded dialog is...
Get the prop that works for the way you plan to fly.
There is no single answer that anyone can give. It will be up to your taste$.
If you don't need CS, Catto and Whirlwind (and Ed Sterba!) make a great fixed pitch and light prop for the RV.
If you want shorter take-off rolls and want a bit more acceleration/deceleration for your formation stuff then go for a CS.
If you need some weight on the nose and FP, the Sensenich is great.
If weight and CS, the Hartzell metal CS is great
Obviously Hartzell is the "gold standard" and in my experience, the Whirlwind is a good choice as well.
James
p.s. I am affiliated with Team AeroDynamix and Hartzell and ECI are sponsors of the Team.