Alexis wrote:
There is no Whirlwind propeller for the SR22 or for the aircraft with big bore engines
Whilwind propellers are supplied for 300 HP aerobatic aircraft, as pictured above, and the company founder uses one on his Lancair IV – which uses the same Continental engine as your Cirrus. Whether or not they are supplied for use on Cirrus aircraft is not a central issue to this discussion 
Haha! So it does exist on some aerobatic airplane, and on the Lancair of the company owner, but I cannot buy it … but it’s better than an MT prop, right?
Great infornation :-)
The Whirlwind website does not even mention CS props for 300 hp engines. Or maybe I am blind.
Thanks. Looks like they have several websites.
Still the pricing be compared with a certified MT prop available for hundreds of GA types, because it’s only available for experimental and/or (?) aerobatic aircraft.
- As far as I understand it’s a prop for experimental aircraft only, no certification, no STCs
- no TKS deice
Alexis wrote:
it’s only available for experimental and/or (?) aerobatic aircraft.
Non-certified only, as I explained. Like many in GA, the company owner thinks certified GA is no longer worth the effort.
The reason for the competitive price is the manufacturing method, which is not used by others including Hartzell etc.
Yes, I understand all that, and I am sure that it is a good product. But how can we compare these uncertified props with certified props for which hundreds of STCs exist? I guess YOU have an idea about the cost of certification. And while we’re at it: That GA isn’t worth the effort might be the opinion of the Whirlwind CEO. But that opinion does not help pilots of certified GA aircraft much.
And the price difference is not as big as one would thing: around $ 15.000 for a three blade, Whirlwind icl. the governor, and my 4-blade MT (with deice and nickel leading edges) is $ 19.000. A three blade certified prop from MT is rather less than the Whirlwind.
Alexis wrote:
Yes, I understand all that, and I am sure that it is a good product. But how can we compare these uncertified props with certified props for which hundreds of STCs exist?
The question was, which is the best propeller technology. I stated my opinion on that question, and my reasoning. You can do with that whatever you want.
Certified light GA is for better or worse slipping into irrelevance.
Certified light GA is for better or worse slipping into irrelevance.
That’s a bold statement and cannot be supported with facts. The number of GA airplanes is constant, here and in the USA well.
I fly a King Air with Hartzell composite 4 blade props. They are very nice props, and I like the sound of them when you get the zero thrust power setting in the descent.
The down side came at maintenance when a few really tiny chips, which would not even have registered on a metal prop, resulted in a the prop being removed and taken to a specialist for repair, cost in the £3000 area for one propeller
Yes, that’s what I think aswell, and that’s what I heard from some Cirrus pilots too. That’s really one of the best parts of the MT, they overhaul the blades for much less money. Also: With the wide stainless steel leading edges I have zero dents or nicks in 2.5 years now. And even if – those parts can be replaced for not too much money.
