On Thu, 12 Jul 2007 04:17:41 GMT, Darrel Toepfer
wrote:

Matt Whiting wrote:

The Arrow wasn't all that bad with the original two-blade prop. But
when the hub failed inspection requiring prop replacement, a decision
was made to go with the 3-blade as it was cheaper (go figure). What a
mistake. The 3-blade vibrates much more, doesn't perform any better
on takeoff, climb or cruise, and performs MUCH worse during glide.

I'd look into having the prop indexed (ie. moved one blade on the hub) to
fix the vibration issue...

With the 3 blade, climb should be better, cruise will suffer, takeoff noise
should be reduced too...

My neighbors Baron lost nearly 8 knots on cruise, he's alot quieter when
taking off over the house, and climbs very well out of short strips
though...

On the Deb I lost about 4 MPH on cruise and gained over 250 fpm on
climb. It also made energy management and landings much easier. Now
when ATC says "keep the speed up as long as praticable" it'll raise
some eyebrows. :-)) Love it!