After installing his Durandal-3 ground adjustable three-blade propeller, ref. DUR-3-175-C4-T, on his Zenair CH-601 XL Rotax 912S 100 hp, a Canadian pilot shared his comments with us and kindly sent us some photos. See below.
“I have meanwhile ordered, received and installed a Durandal propeller. It is replacing a 3-bladed, ground-adjustable Ivoprop propeller.
I am very happy with the new propeller. I have always thought that propellers have existed for so long, there can’t possibly be any innovation anymore. Turned out I was wrong.
This propeller is a game changer.
On a first test flight, I noticed that the recommended 25.5° of pitch were too coarse as the engine only reached about 5,300 rpm WOT. Following the instructions, I reduced the pitch angle to 24.3°, and now the propeller is at its sweet spot. On my second flight, I noticed that with the power settings I used before, the plane would fly 6 KIAS faster than before. And I even had to throttle back a bit as the airspeed surpassed Vno. It is obvious that the propeller creates far less drag than the old propeller, which is beneficial in terms of airspeed and fuel consumption (and presumably oil consumption as well).
There are no noticeable vibrations from the propeller, either.
Last but not least, M. Gagné provided excellent support and information and answered all of my questions right away. I am very happy with the product itself and the service.
I am not easy to impress, but you guys absolutely nailed it.
Kudos to everyone involved !“
More data here : E-PROPS for CH-601 XL Rotax 912S
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