3-blade prop?

We were hoping that our prop would last until the city was done
repaving our horrible taxiways. There was no sense in replacing it
while we were literally picking up stone chips on every flight.

Well, on our first flight after getting back in our own hangar, with
our beautiful new taxiways (after fighting for 8 years to get them
resurfaced!), we picked up a nice thin sheen of oil on the windshield.

We've cleaned everything up, and plan on keeping a close eye on it, but
I know we're getting close to needing to do something with the prop --
it's past due in time.

We would either go with an overhaul, or now would be the time to
install a 3-blade prop, both for inproved smoothness of operation (the
Lyc O-540 ain't known for smoothness) and improved ground clearance (we
like grass strips).

Any input either way would be great. Anyone converted to the 3-blade
prop in the Pathfinder/Dakota/Cherokee Six line? Anything good or bad
to say would be helpful.

Thanks!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"