Dear Europaphiles,
I have been watching the recent thread on Woodcomp props with much
interest and I thought that some observations I have mentioned before on
the Whirl Wind hydraulic constant speed prop may be of interest, see
http://www.whirlwindaviation.com/series100.php. This prop may not be
inexpensive but it is good.
I have flown 600 + hours with mine from new and have found it to be
completely trouble free and it gives excellent performance. It is also
one of the lightest props available with a weight of 9.3 lbs. I bought
it after listening to Kim Prout at Oshkosh many years ago. Paraphrasing,
he said that it was the most significant single contribution to the
performance of his Europa. I believe that the Series 100 Whirl Wind prop
was designed specifically for the Europa and for details of the
performance of Kim's plane, you can see the CAFE report at
http://cafefoundation.org/v2/pdf_apr/Europa%20APR.pdf . As you will
see, Kim's Europa Classic with the 80 HP 912 is no slouch. On my plane
for take-off, I set the vernier control to max which gives 5,800 rpm and
after take-off, one can easily wind back to 5,500 rpm while remaining at
full throttle. I normally cruise at settings between 5,100 and 5,500
rpm. If one chooses, the governor will control any speed from about
3,800 up to 5,800 rpm. Whirl Wind has been producing propellers for
Unlimited category aerobatic competitors as well as for airshow
performers for many years so the basic design is very well proven.
To install this prop on a 912/ 912S/914, you must have the gearbox
modification which allows the governor to supply control pressure oil to
the hollow prop drive shaft. It is preferable to specify this before you
take delivery of the engine. The Czech made Jihostroj governor which is
supplied as part of the package has proved to be completely reliable and
is very accurate. The governor mounts on the engine auxiliary pad which
is normally used for a vacuum pump, so one has to rely on non-vacuum
instruments. I am not familiar with the internals of the Whirlwind hub
but there is one large central adjustment nut which sets the fine pitch
stop to give a corresponding max speed of 5,800 rpm at full throttle at
take off.
I have no business relationship with Whirl Wind. Please contact if you
have any questions.
Cheers, John
N262WF, mono XS, 912S
Mooresville, North Carolina
704-664-4167
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