Thorp Air Command - T18.net

Cubes,
I believe Warp Drive has a terrible record when used with larger 4 cylinder Lycoming engines... I believe it's related to pulsation & possibly some other issues. Ask Harvey M. (builder of "Fat Cat") what his experience was. I tried to warn him years ago on the old forum, but he was committed to using one... for a short while anyway.

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John Evens
Arvada, Colorado
T-18 N71JE (sold)
Kitfox 7 SS N27JE

I'm going with eight cylinders. I was told they do great on the V6 powered birds.
Cubes

There is a CATTO 2 blade 68x69 with 7/16" bolt holes for sale on the Vans air force forum classified ads. it's for a 150/160 hp Lycoming.

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Scott Emery
EAA Chapter 326
T-18 N18TE

John, please double check for me on that bad reputation. Might you be thinking of Ivo?

No, I was thinking Warpdrive. I don't particularly like the Ivo props either, especially after seeing the insides of one after a prop strike, but they're very popular with the Kitfox guys, as are Warpdrive. The Warpdrive Magnums are probably what you are thinking about. Google "Warpdrive prop failures with Lycoming". Harvey Mickelson (sp?) detailed his experience somewhere in an old Thorp newsletter also. I can't remember what type of engine you are going to use Jim. Those props seem to work ok with many engines using PSRUs. The problems seem to have been associated with the power pulses from Lycomings, etc. Also, the hubs used are a big factor. NSI hubs come to mind. I don't want to be one of the "fear mongers", helping to spread rumors & misinformation, believe me, & I fear I may be doing that here. I just care about you, and I know you will do the homework necessary for your safety.

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John Evens
Arvada, Colorado
T-18 N71JE (sold)
Kitfox 7 SS N27JE

I buy my Thorp without the prop! I dont have a good feeling about this 4 blades screw...



Is it a IVO or a Warp Drive... 200 mph cruising speed with this set up!!!! I dont think so

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Thierry
French Canadian T-18
C-FPVE #091

The warp drive is used on the Subaru, the Electric variable pitch is very popular with the Subaru crowd. Dan

The combo Subaru and plane freeze my blood! A pilot near Montreal installed a Subaru engine inside is Cessna 140! After 5 years of wrenching with a piece of dream and lot of money invested he lost is mind...he wake-up the next morning married with a pinneaple

What is the real good set-up for the best cruising speed versus price?
68x72
68x74

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Thierry
French Canadian T-18
C-FPVE #091

0-320!

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Thierry
French Canadian T-18
C-FPVE #091

Thiery,

I had a Warp Drive prop on a plane that had a Subaru engine a few years back. It was good for lower speeds but I can't see it being very good for the speeds we travel at. The blades are basically straight. For a prop to be efficient the blades should have a twist to them.

Jim

Pacer 20...I would put a pineapple on the end with a few of those tiny umbrellas to compensate for the torque ! The Royal Hawaiian in Wacki Wacki Beach can set you up with the proper "mixture." BOOM !

RB

Thierry I have a 68 x 72 on my 150hp 320 e2d, very happy with it, but it is a Demuth Prop, it will allow me to get right to the red line and does have excellent climb characteristics. Does anyone know if the Demuth Family is going to continue Mikes work?? Cubes, What does Jess run on his redrives? seems his redrive would all but eliminate a lot of the shock accociated with just about anything given his spotless track record with his units, I would imagine you could run just about anything on that unit that was of very good quality. Paul McMichaels has a prop that he is happy with but I don't know what it is, he too has the 150hp 320...Hope this helps a bit Thierry....Dan

John, I did some reading on the Laminated prop hub troubles that you speak of but its been awhile,but I agree that we only will ever have one Cubes. I will dig at this one a bit and see what I find as its been so long and Im getting old I cant remember enough to speak of it with clarity. Dean has a Catto prop and I believe it is a totally different animal it is Carbon fiber over wood core the thing is a work of art, I think Catto has his process down to a science, does he have anything that will handle that beast Cubes have you talked to him by chance??? Rich! your good at digging into this stuff, lets see what we find..........Dan

Dan,
Jess is the one who recommended the Warp drive for my setup. He has one on his V6 powered RV-6 (ptew!). They make a ground adjustable unit that will work. When I talked to them, they just wanted max RPM, Max blade length, and the torque curve. They will figure out everything else. So that was my plan to get it airborne. I haven't dyno'd the engine yet. But will soon, I hope.
Thierry, I hear great things about Catto. You may want to call them and discuss you mission.
Cubes

I figured Jess had some involvement here! he knows his stuff! he has years at this very subject. That v-6 in his Plane probably is a smooth as a sewing machine......dan