Is anyone using WOOD props on their F450/550 copters?

BerndM

BerndM

Member
In all the many years of flying RC airplanes, I have NEVER had a prop break or disintegrate in flight, except in a crash.
So I'm wondering why we don't all use these bulletproof props.
If you ARE using wood props, what exactly are you using and where did you get them.


Is there ANY to know FOR CERTAIN if the 8x4.5 DJI props I have are the old fly-apart type or the supposedly "New & Improved" version??

Thanks for your input
 
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BerndM

BerndM

Member
WOW...those prices are ridiculous. There is simply no justification for a small wooden prop to be anywhere even close to those prices.
The one thing I really like about the DJI design is the 2 flats in the hole to lock the blades to the DJI motor shafts.
That eliminates ANY posibility of a blade spinning free in case a nut comes a bit loose. How disappointing would THAT be??
 

BerndM

BerndM

Member
I just got off the phone with Tom at National Hobbies in Mesa, AZ and he looked into the OLD vs NEW DJI props.
According to his sources, the new props have larger hubs, but the overall design is the same.
Based on his information, I measured the original props that came with my quad, and they were the OLD style.
The 2 sets of replacement props I just got from Tom are the NEW type.

Here are my measurements

OLD STYLE
Hub diameter .558" or 14.17mm
Hub thickness .315" or 8.00mm

NEW STYLE
Hub diameter .587" or 14.90mm
Hub thickness .324" or 8.20mm

I hope the new ones don't have the same "issues" as the old style.
 

kloner

kloner

Aerial DP
to go on the cheap like your trying to do, you need apc 10x4.2 left and right.

All the dji props suck, they'll all break, you dont want that hub thing, not needed, can't balance em and when you go cheap, you'll need to ivest into a prop balancer. There is also GWS 3 blade props, work alright
 

Aerial Media Pros

Aerial Media Pros

Member
BerndM said:
WOW...those prices are ridiculous. There is simply no justification for a small wooden prop to be anywhere even close to those prices.
Click to expand...

The Graupners are close to $12 each, and the Wood Xoar are about $18 each (Price on site is per Pair). The Xoar props are made of Beachwood, come pre balanced, and are extremely smooth. They are drilled to specs of each motor shaft, so no need for spacers and such. For backyard flying and such, the Graupners are a nice replacement. If you have onboard camera and want the smoothest prop possible, the Xoar props are a great match. I use to spend allot of time sanding Plastic props and balanceing them. Then I would balance the hubs using the CA glue method. All of this resulted in me getting all dusty, with my fingers stuck together with CA glue lol, not to mention all the time it took to sit there and balance each prop. For me, saving all that time and hassle is well worth the high price of the Xoars. I simply bolt them right on and go fly. The Xoar's are not for everyone though. As I mentioned, for most that are backyard flying and just want a quality prop that will not break. The Graupners will work fine, and are pretty dang nice too.
 

M

mailman35

Member
the zingers i got are cheap 2-3$ a prop. i just dont trust the dji props or motors much anymore, they leave to much to be desired.
 

BerndM

BerndM

Member
I will look into the Graupners..thanks for the info!
I guess I've been flying way too long and my mind has NOT kept up with inflation. For example, my first house, a 3 bedroom, 2 bath with 1500 sq ft was $27000 back in '74. My last motorcycle (BMW of course) was damn near that much. that's my excuse for being "cheap", <:))......Still hard to mentally justify these high(er) prices based on my recollections.
When I talked to Tom at National Hobbies, his take on the wood prop topic is that in order to shape a wood prop to the same airfoil and thinness of the composites is very near impossible and as a result the efficiency drops rapidly. This makes sense to me
Tanks for the input!
 


M

mailman35

Member
yeah, still havent figured out why. i dont have anything inline to record the amp draw. but its identical when flying with 3s or 4s. word is the jxt's are oem xoars for cheaper.
also rctimer has some decent cf slowfly's a set of 4 for a bit over 30 for 10's .
 

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