I just had a little incident with my original prop on my 400x... the hub "somehow" got wallowed out when i mistakenly pulled back on the stick while doing a low, inverted flyby at full speed (my mouth just dropped open at the impact)

since winter is coming soon, i was thinking about getting a folding prop so i can land in the snow. i really dont want to catch the prop in the snow. are there any disadvantages to a folding prop? what is the best brand to get and where to get them. the LHS hardly has ANYTHING for e-flight!!! can anyone help me here?

thanks

p.s. the plane suffered no other damage then a botched prop... God bless the zagi!!!!

I have been using Graupner cam Folders on my Zagi THL. They work well. I have them on 6V speed 400 8-cell nicads, and 7.2 volt 10 cell NiMhs, and a Promax 4013 on 8 CP1300SCRs. On the promax i have the blades on a 7x3 hub, that brings the Diameter over 6 inches.

You may lose a bit of top speed but will get a better climb. You need to fabricate a little stop so the blades do not go over center, or it will shake it self to bits. i do not bother with a spinner, just glue a small 3m urathane rounded table saver to the Bass prop stop.

Really Kool to do a flyby with the blades folded and add heat right next to you. You need a brake to stop the prop. If you shut down because of BEC cut off, the prop continues to windmill, and you can see the effects on the L/D. Good tactic to get it in shorter, especially when soaring at the beach in wicked winds.

Can get em at Hobby Lobby, or New Creations. Don't overtighten the set screws, but when you do, you can install the next size up american size. Out of hundreds of hours, only broke perhaps 3 or 4 blades and 1 or 2 hubs. Think all happened on flying off the rooftop of my friends building, somehow fall onto the pavement below for 1 reason or another.

Beware these things are sharp, you stick fingers in, they turn red right now. Slightly burnish with 600 sandpaper the LE and TE.

Ron Parigoris

shamless bump

here's a couple pics of Graupner CAM folders used as pushers on an s400 wing. The first is a 6x3 that had to have a few mods to work right. The second is the 6.3x3 (larger hub - used for Terry I think) and all it needs is a rubber band in it to prevent fold-over.

http://www.acesim.com/rc/construct8.html

well, just ordered the 6.3x3 for my zagi (along with some metal gear sets for my hs-81s). i sure hope this works. i want it to be the same (or as close to stock) as possible. *fingers crossed*
i wander if the zagi will look dumb with the larger prop hub on it.

thanks for the advice guys.

hey hardlock, i saw an American Airlines foam glider in my nearby Hobby Lobby store. will these work for the "wally wing"?

Wondered about that model myself. Guess you'd need to hack off the turbines or maybe go EDF?

well, got the 6.3X3 yesterday. had to cut a bit of the foam away to get it to spin correctly. I tried it out and it seems to climb a lot better, but it seems a bit slower than with the stock prop. is anyone else using this prop on a 400x?

Also, i did not have any problems with the blades trying to cross... i dunno

Trust me, if you can manually fold and cross the blades by hand, sooner or later they'll cross in flight.

Maybe the pivot screws are just tight enough...but..

If they do ever cross, when you power back up, they will try to open the WRONG way. Hard on prop, motor, shaft, ESC, etc. etc.

Just add the rubber band

I think the 3" pitch may be helping the climb but at the cost of top speed? Any deeper pitch and you'll need to reduce diameter to keep the RPM's up however. Don't know of a better sized folder that works myself, anyone else?

well, with that spinner on, how can the blades cross? mine wont even touch at the tips of the prop blades...

Hum...I can't figure how you have it setup so they can't cross.

As you can see in the pic, the cutouts for the blades allow them to go WAY back assuming you reversed the blades for pusher use.

If not, that would explain the poor performance and the need to cutout some foam?

man...one more reason to get a digital camera

it looks like we have them set up the same (with the purple lettering facing the front of the plane while unfolded). If i fold them in with my hand, about 1/4" of the tips are crossed. This wont cause a problem will it? While flying, i never see the blades fold more than straight back anyway.

I think the reason I had to cut a little bit of foam away is because it is a 6.3 and not the usual 6. I am not sure if there is a lack in performance... it just seems different. maybe i whould get a new stock prop and play with them both... got an extra laying around that you want to send me?

Why bother with a folder on a ZAGI?

I have over 100 flights on my ZAGI X with the prop that came with the kit.

I only land on grass so that may be part of it.

Just my $.02

ever land in a harvested corn field... or on snow.... guess not

Corn stalks? No, not around here.

Snow? All too soon, I'm afraid.

Perhaps that will make me a folder convert ?

Advantages:

They allow you to spend more money on your hobby

They create less drag when folded allowing a better glide

They hurt alot more, especially if you use a CF reinforced, they are thinner and sharper

They do not bend shafts as much

You can keep the throttle 1 or 2 clicks north of off, to disable brake and get more drag for steeper glide if you need

They do not break anywhere ner as much as fixed, you can replace only 1 blade at a time

Hubs do not slip, although you can get an adapter for the spoon props to fix that

It is way kool to do a flyby with the prop folded and when it is right next to you, you add heat and unfold it

I haven't done it yet, but when your friend is about to show off, disable his anti cross the blades devise and turn his zag into a Viabratory Machine, that will still turn on Barberella

Not as many sizes available, so it may force you to add or take away batteries and fool with different hub sizes to change diameter, and cut and mangle the props a bit to change diameters and thicknesses and widths, net it may teach you a great deal

(It was worth it for me, just for the last reason)


Ron Parigoris