Current 912uls prop reviews

A buddy put an Eprop on his 912is CTLS and loves it. I’ve only heard positives about them. Good choice I believe. 

Regarding Propellers for Rotax 912 ULS.

I am running with a Sensenich Model 3B0R5/72 three blade ground adjustable and like it. 

I bought my Rotax 912 ULS powered Skystar Kitfox Model 5 Vixen affixed with a Ivo Ultralight 72 inch three blade ground adjustable propeller that by itself was pretty efficient, however I changed for a couple of what I think were important reasons.  The Ivo does not offer a method to fine tune the pitch angle on each separate blade, and the "stick on" stainless adhesive tape used for blade edge protection I feel is pretty crude.  Early on in my flying this machine, one of the metal tapes flung itself off and the engine was running so rough I thought I had lost part of a blade.  The Ivo also needs a modified "skullcap" spinner, which doesn't offer good places for propeller balancing weights.   I switched to the Sensenich about a year ago and have maybe 100 hours on it so far, have dynamically balanced it as well and to date, I am very happy with it.  Also, an important aesthetic feature is that Sensenich sells a companion composite spinner & backplate, which offers spots for attaching balancing weights as well as making the plane a little more sporty looking. 

The Sensenich is made in the States, has good documentation, parts records, and I was able to actually talk to folks from the Sensenich factory while getting used to it.  The product quality is very nice, the hub and pitch changing mechanism are unique and so far, it has no issues.  I am of course, partial to Sensenich from my past use of general aviation US Built Part 23 aircraft, where Sensenich has had a long presence.  

The pin system used to set the blade pitch on the (three) blades is pretty easy and doesn't involve fussing with protractor angles to get it set.  In reality, I have only set the pitch twice (while determing what angle I liked...by setting an initial pitch, flying it and noting the RPMs).  Since then, I've checked the pitch and torque, followed by one "fine re-adjustment" during the torquing of the hub clamps.  The blade tracking is right on mark.  The embedded metal leading edge is robust and so far has been trouble free.  I can tell the new Sensenich is a bit heavier than the feather-like construction of the Ivo Ultralight, however time will tell if this is a significant factor in additional wear or not.  And for those who may be wondering, prior to prop change, I contacted by local FSDO to establish my intent & guidance on how to go about the change to make it safe and legal.  I did need to do a new weight & balance, followed by test flights (with documentation of handling characteristics and speed changes, which is Phase 1 flight testing (I believe for 5 hours), then log book entries.

Having owned another homebuilt previously with a composite Powerfin propeller (which involved setting the pitch of each by using a protractor angle tool), I was attracted to the pitch pin method that Sensenich uses.  As an aside, one of our local airport colleagues has a two blade ground adjustable on his Super Cub and was very pleased he was able to easily change the pitch while out on his last Alaska trip, to gain speed or power, depending on where he was operating.  The two blade (STC'd for the Super Cub) has the same pitch changing system as the three blade.

My experience so far are positive for the Sensenich.

Skot

Hi Jason,

I cant speak more highly of E-Prop (no, I don't sell them) have owned one for a few years now and have installed quite a few of the ground adjustable pitch version (Durandal) and have found every single owner makes the same comments, lighter, faster and quieter, also the low mass gets rid of that awful thud on shutdown. That combined with no calendar life time and 4000 TBO they are quite amazing. I really like their constant speed (Glorieuse) however they are not as popular due to the much higher cost and maintenance requirements. With the ESR effect of the ground adjustable they are excellent value.

Without doubt the e-prop is the most significant performance improvement I have made on my aircraft.

The E-Prop factory is quite amazing to deal with, responsive and very happy to answer any queries.

My only feedback that may be not described as positive:

1. They take a little more engine revs from standstill on the ground to get the plane to start rolling, once RPM picks up the ESR effect kicks in very fast.

2. Lower inertia, so pulling throttle back to idle on landing changes the feel, you quickly adapt to this lower inertia, the plus side to this is throttle response is faster.

3. They are very low weight 2.2-2.5kg, so have to be careful with weight and balance/operating envelope, in some cases weight being added to compensate.

4. They look very different to the average propellor, this tends to prompt some rather interesting comments from people who have not experienced an E-prop before calling them “tooth picks” or “how can that work or not snap?

If you can send me a PM, would be happy to share the performance comparison data I found between my previous Kiev and conversion to an E-Prop.

Cheers,

Byron.

E-Prop seems to be the top forerunner at this time on many forums and aircraft.  Half the weight and better climb and a tad more speed. Sensenich is another good prop.

Several years ago I was sent 14 different props from different Mfg's to test in a way they had never done or heard of. E-Prop's weren't around at the time. The most deciding factor for a ground adjustable prop was the prop pitch. Anything under 5500 WOT in level flight at your average altitude is over pitched and you start to lose several things. The best balanced pitch (since we can't change a ground adjustable in air) setting for all those props was 5600 - 5650 rpm at WOT at your average altitude.

In flight adjustable props have more options.

I cant speak to the application of the E prop on the ULS but many like it.  I do know of a person locally who cant get the E prop to work with their so called constant speed on a type 916.  Seems to hunt too much to maintain prop RPM correctly with that engine prop combination. 

Cheers