AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2019 - 16

LETTERS
the "Shuttle" the flight attendants were given the chore of
passing out cards with a single
Wilkinson Sword razor blade
attached. As you say, times have
changed. Since the short flight
was taken up by collecting fares,
many of them just pushed the
stacks of razor blades into the
cockpit and I managed to shave
with them for years.

Read the fine print

Mike Busch did an outstanding
job in summarizing the essentials
of an aircraft insurance policy.
I retired a few years ago after
a 33-year career in the aircraft
insurance industry, specializing in general aviation. I was
both an underwriter (11 years)
and a broker (22 years). Since
my retirement from full-time
employment I've been hired
from time to time as an expert
witness on GA insurance matters, always on the side of fellow
aircraft owners. Most often my
cases center around the permissive user clause, aka the pilot
warranty. There is no standard

87 EFFICIENCY 88 MAINTENANCE 91 WEATHER 96 ADS-B 98 NEVER AGAIN

Owner Mike Filucci used a potter's
wheel to get the spiral pattern on the
TB 30 Epsilon's spinner just right.

EFFICIENCY

Propeller test
Two blades or three?
B Y D AV E H I R S C H M A N

CHRIS ROSE

Phil Hansen
AOPA 1619570
Port St. Lucie, Florida

PROFICIENCY & EFFICIENCY

86 | AOPA PILOT June 2019

TWO-BLADE, metal propellers are hard to
beat in terms of top speed and price. For
most of the piston-powered general aviation
fleet, two-blade props deliver higher cruise
speeds than multi-blade varieties-and they
cost less to buy. Since aircraft owners like to
go fast and spend as little as possible, why
would anyone consider anything else?
There are lots of reasons:
* Backcountry pilots using short airstrips at
high density altitudes want a "low first gear"
that maximizes initial acceleration and provides greater ground clearance.
* Aerobatic pilots want light propellers that
are easier on engine crankshafts-especially
during gyroscopic maneuvers and snap rolls
that impose punishing loads, which can
shorten engine life.
* Formation pilots want instant acceleration and deceleration that lets them make
quick and precise adjustments.
* Pilots flying in noise-sensitive areas want
their aircraft to be quiet.
Now, new materials and manufacturing
techniques are allowing lightweight, multiblade, composite propellers to challenge
traditional two-blade, metal props across the
full performance range-including top speed
and price. When AOPA colleague and Socata
TB 30 Epsilon owner Mike Filucci recently
replaced a 35-year-old, two-blade aluminum
prop ($14,500) with a new, three-blade, carbon-fiber Whirlwind model ($15,200), it
gave us the chance to carefully measure
some of the performance differences.
The new prop significantly improved
the airplane's climb performance while
top speed was virtually unchanged (at both
5,000 feet and 10,000 feet).
"I do lots of formation and aerobatic
flying in the Epsilon and I was looking for
a prop that would provide quick acceleration and deceleration, and be a little

easier on the engine," Filucci said. "The
Whirlwind prop is like a speed brake when
you pull the power back. It's noticeably
smoother and quieter-and I really like
the way it looks."
To measure the changes, we topped off
the Epsilon's fuel tanks, loaded it identically,
then used the TB 30's autopilot to perform
a series of climbs from 3,000 feet to 10,000
feet using a constant indicated airspeed, and
then a constant vertical speed.
During the constant-indicated-airspeed
climb, the three-blade prop reached the target altitude quicker (seven minutes versus
eight), and it showed higher rates of climb
throughout the ascent (1,050 fpm versus
950 fpm at 5,000 feet, and 800 fpm versus
750 fpm at 10,000 feet).
During the constant-vertical-speed
climb at a rate of 1,000 feet per minute, the
three-blade prop maintained consistently
higher indicated airspeeds (148 KIAS versus
128 KIAS at 5,000 feet, and 98 KIAS versus
88 KIAS at 10,000 feet).
The Whirlwind prop, governor, and
spinner are 3 pounds lighter than the twoblade metal prop assembly it replaced.
Filucci said he was pleasantly surprised
that the new, three-blade prop didn't significantly reduce his airplane's top speed. In
flat-out speed runs at 5,000 feet and 2,500
rpm, the three-blade prop was one knot
faster at 189 KTAS (174 KIAS). At 10,000
feet, the two-blade prop was 2 knots faster
at 178 KTAS (153 KIAS).
"Frankly, I was willing to give up some
speed on the high end to get the flying qualities I wanted in formation, and what I expect
will be longer engine life," Filucci said. "The
fact that the new prop doesn't really slow the
airplane down is a bonus."
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EMAIL dave.hirschman@aopa.org

www.aopa.org/pilot AOPA PILOT | 87

Thanks to your friend Mike Filucci for
doing before-and-after tests on his airplane
("Efficiency: Propeller Test"). It's so rare to see
actual data!

Dan Johnson
AOPA 656213
Menomonie, Wisconsin

among the various insurance
underwriters as to the wording and meaning of this critical
section of an aircraft insurance
policy. The terms of the pilot
warranty should be understood
and agreed by both parties
before coverage is bound.

One more caveat: As with any
insurance policy each party must
understand their obligations.
The insurance carrier agrees to
make the terms of their coverage
understandable and to pay valid
claims promptly. The aircraft
owner also has responsibilities

(beyond paying the premium).
The insured has a responsibility
to be honest in their statements
(both verbal and written) and
to read/understand the policy,
asking questions about anything that is not clear, especially
the pilot warranty.
Bob Leuten
AOPA 983101
Pleasanton, California

Errata

"Savvy Maintenance: A Matter
of Policy" (June 2019 AOPA
Pilot) incorrectly implied that
insurance was not available for
Lancair IVs. Such insurance is,
in fact, available.
In "Blame It on the Backcountry," June 2019 AOPA
Pilot, the Johnson Creek midair
involved a Piper Tri-Pacer and
a Piper Arrow, not a Beechcraft
Baron.
AOPA Pilot regrets the
errors.
We welcome your comments.
Editor, AOPA Pilot, 421 Aviation
Way, Frederick, Maryland 21701
or email (pilot@aopa.org).
Letters may be edited for length
and style before publication.

HANGAR TALK

AOPA Senior Photographer MIKE FIZER usually hangs out on the periphery while he's immortalizing his subjects, but every so often he wades into the mix. On location in Roanoke, Virginia, for
"THE TINKERER'S 195," p. 50, Fizer and Senior Editor Jill W. Tallman were discussing ways to depict
owner Jeff Parker's airframe and powerplant skills. "I could swing the engine," Parker offered. And
so Fizer put down his camera, helped remove pieces of cowling, held the propeller in place while
Parker unfastened pins, and helped shove the 195's Jacobs engine to a 45-degree angle. After taking several photos of Parker elbow deep in the 195, Fizer then helped him button it all back up.
"As journalists, we don't always know what to expect when we show up to research a
story. That wasn't the case when I arrived at Montréal Saint-Hubert Airport in Longueuil,
Quebec," said MIKE COLLINS ("THE MAGIC OF 'PLANE SAVERS'," p. 58). "I had watched
much of Mikey McBryan's Plane Savers series on YouTube and felt like I already knew
almost everyone when I walked into Episode 155 (around the 20-minute mark). I loved
Ice Pilots NWT, about 'Buffalo' Joe McBryan's Buffalo Airways, and it was a privilege
to hang out with the McBryans for a few days, learning all kinds of DC-3 things from
Mikey's dad, Buffalo Joe, and uncle Ronny. But it was the great team of people he assembled-through a combination of connections, charisma, and coincidence-that allowed a
D-Day veteran to fly again on the seventy-fifth anniversary. Look for them at AirVenture."

16 | AOPA PILOT August 2019

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AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2019