Warp Drive Props
KMellor
I am thinking of ordering a Warp Drive (three blade) prop for my
experimental aircraft (lyco 0235). Does anyone have experience with this
prop and what it did for performance ? Also what size of prop bolt do
you use to mount the hub?
Roger D. Mellema
I have been using one on my BD-4 with 3.8 L V6 for a couple of years
now. I am really happy with it and have had no problems. It is not
hard to set the blades to a different pitch but you do have to take the
spinner off.
My blades are rectangular in shape rather than the variety that gets
very narrow at the tip. I asked for the 'uncut' blades as I am putting
out up to 195 hp. The tapered blades will give a much better 'almost
constant speed' performance. You should be able to use the tapered
blades with your engine. My blades are extremely rigid and act more
like a metal prop.
You could do well with the electrically adjustable hub. It is
expensive but will give much better performance.
The only 'different' thing about my Warp prop is that it 'howls' when
under full power in a static condition. As soon as the airplane gets a
little speed on take-off, the howl goes away. It sounds as if the prop
is stalling or cavitating some. Warp says they have tested the prop in
this condition and there is nothing to worry about. The greater the
pitch (cruise), the quicker (in rpm) the howl sets in. When set for max
cruise conditions (for my airplane) the howl starts at 1800 rpm.
I flew my engine for the first 50 hours with a top-of-the-line wood
prop which cost more than the Warp and was not nearly as good. These
are really great props!
rdm
--
Roger D. Mellema Editor: BD-4 Builders/Owners Newsletter
BD-4 with Ford 3.8 L V-6 2/3 P-51 with 351 Ford V-8
rmel...@who.net
http://www.halcyon.com/www2/rmellema/BDindex.html
Rvbldr3170
You might want to review the discussion here in this forum concerning the
use of these props in a direct drive four cylinder installation. There are
proponents and opponents but in any case it is food for thought.
"I fly; therefore I am"
First rule of holes: "When your in one- stop digging!!!"
Regards,
Merle
Gary Palmer
KMellor wrote:
>
> I am thinking of ordering a Warp Drive (three blade) prop for my
> experimental aircraft (lyco 0235). Does anyone have experience with this
> prop and what it did for performance ? Also what size of prop bolt do
> you use to mount the hub?
I had approx 350 hrs positive experience with the 3 blade Warp Drive
ground adjustable unit on a Lyc O235-C2C on a Lancair 235. It was
excellent, very smooth, and improved my takeoff performance by some 10%
over my previous wood prop with no loss at the high end. Of course the
big advantage is the ability to ground adjust to suit your preferred
trade-off.
Warp Drive sells hubs for both the SAE1 and SAE2 flanges, so no problem
there.
I would strongly recommend against using either the NSI or Warp drive
cockpit adjustable hubs on a Lycoming at this point in time as my NSI
unit failed catastrophically after 1.5 hours time in service ( see
previous post on "NSI CAP In Flight failure). In fact Warp drive do not
support or sell their in flight adjustable for Lycs or Continentals at
this time.
Regards..........Gary Palmer (ex Lancair pilot......sadly).
ROTOPUP
We've used a four-blade Warp Drive on a Lycoming 0-360 , 180
hp. for years with no problems.
Rvbldr3170
>We've used a four-blade Warp Drive on a Lycoming 0-360 , 180
>hp. for years with no problems.
How many hours have you got on this unit ?
I'm very interested in this particular configuration (4 blade) for my
RV-4/Vortec installation.
Any information would be greatly appreciated
Toni Gayle Scott
KMellor <kme...@gtn.net> wrote:
>I am thinking of ordering a Warp Drive (three blade) prop for my
>experimental aircraft (lyco 0235). Does anyone have experience with this
>prop and what it did for performance ? Also what size of prop bolt do
>you use to mount the hub?
We have used 3 and 4 blade Warp Drive props with our Glass Goose
Amphib, having flown the 4 blade with an O-320/160 for over 10 years.
Great prop. Good company. Nice people.
Toni Scott
Quikkit div Rainbow Flyers
Home of the GLASSGOOSE
ROTOPUP
Merle,
You asked................
> How many hours have you got on this unit ?
Between 150 and 200 hard hours. It is on a 1500 lb. gross wt. Gyroplane
in pusher configuration. It was a radical improvement over the two-blade
Sensenich and a noticeable improvement over a three-bladed Hartzell
constant-speed. Much quieter, smoother and definetly more efficient.
Ron