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Whirlwind Prop on RV12

n233va

Member
Anyone have a Whirlwind on a 12? If so, what has been your experience?Seriously considering and alternative to the Sensenich.
 
I got a quote for 70" 3 blade Whirlwind and 9.75" spinner for $1950 shipped. My prop is the newer model Sensenich so it may be for sale in the future.

Mitch Garner
 
Not only A alternative: THE alternative, in my opinion. More climb, more cruise, specially designed for Rotax,and affordable as well. Was a nice article about it in Experimental July 2012. I'm not at that stage, yet, but the info is on the pile next to my pillow :))
Anyone that has real-life experience is welcome, needless to say.
 
Unknowns re: Whirlwind

The Whirlwind seems reasonable cost wise. However, in looking at the installation instructions, I don't see that the hub has a hole for the RV-12 (unique) pitot tube. If they make a hole for us then the whole issue of cracks become a possibility.

Also, the prop blades are ground adjustable by protractor/digital level the same as the Sensenich so you have the same rigmarole only in the case of a 3 blade, one more blade to try to set to within 0.1° or 0.2°. And you must completely disassemble and re-pitch this prop annually. https://whirlwindpropellers.com/aircraft/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/GA-RW3B-Propeller-Installation-and-Operation-Instructions.pdf

If I read the current Sensenich documents correctly, even after replacing the front hub cover, you still have to disassemble the hub to torque check the hub/engine flange bolts annually. See page 7 of the FAQ for SB2016-06B. (Correction: replacing the front hub cover does eliminate the requirement for annually re-torque of the engine flange bolts)

I no longer want to mess with these ground adjustable props. What I do want is a fixed pitch prop. In light of current developments I think such a prop is likely to become available. The sooner the better, IMO.
 
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Yes, but pitch angle for one plane may not be correct for another.

Case in point... I have lots of experience setting pitch on the two-blade Sensenich. I adjusted pitch on a relatively new SLSA RV-12 and liked the performance so much that I copied the angle to my prop. Didn't duplicate performance at all. I ended up with 1? steeper pitch to achieve same climb and cruise performance. Both planes are based at same airport. For the above example I used same high-quality tools and technique on both planes...
 
If I read the current Sensenich documents correctly, even after replacing the front hub cover, you still have to disassemble the hub to torque check the hub/engine flange bolts annually. See page 7 of the FAQ for SB2016-06B.

Tony - Page 7 says "This option will permanently comply with the service bulletin, remove the 50 hour inspection interval and also eliminate the annual re-torque for the mounting bolts under the blades. This means the only re-torque at annual will be the clamp bolts."
 
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Tony - Page 7 says "This option will permanently comply with the service bulletin, remove the 50 hour inspection interval and also eliminate the annual re-torque for the mounting bolts under the blades. This means the only re-torque at annual will be the clamp bolts."

Yes, I see. Thanks for the heads up, I didn't read far enough. That is an important point.

Thanks for saving me from myself.:eek:
 
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Catto has a 3 blade fixed pitch

I haven't seen performance numbers on the Catto, but it's $4500 for prop and spinner. It does have the hole for the Pitot. Based on other stuff Catto does, it's probably the best one out there.

Does anyone know which 3-bladed prop Van's was testing for the iS? The last word I heard about that was that it probably wouldn't be available for the ULS.
 
Tony - Page 7 says "This option will permanently comply with the service bulletin, remove the 50 hour inspection interval and also eliminate the annual re-torque for the mounting bolts under the blades. This means the only re-torque at annual will be the clamp bolts."

I'm thinking about this and it doesn't seem to make sense that installing the Rev ?D1? Hub Cover would negate the need to check torque of Hub/Engine
Flange bolts.

I'll contact Sensenich and ask if they misspoke and need to walk-it-back like the Prez... :D
 
Another WhirlWind option

Has anyone installed a constant speed prop on an RV-12? Speaking of WhirlWind... http://www.whirlwindaviation.com/props/100series.asp

The pitot would need to be relocated, and one would need a prop control in the cockpit, and the cost is significantly greater, but think of the flexibility in operating the aircraft. I suspect that the improvement would not be as great as with one of the ?regular? RVs which have a wider speed envelope and therefore have a greater compromise with a fixed pitch prop.

Anyone installed a c/s prop?
 
In the US? I'd be a little surprised to see it, since it would render the RV-12 no longer eligible to be flown with Sport Pilot privileges. Ever.

That may change, with EFIS systems doing the monitoring and adjusting, minimizing workload on the pilot in the cockpit. Time will tell, more and more stuff getting automated.
 
And with BasicMed now an option Sport Pilot privileges are less important in driving aircraft purchase & selection than before. Still a factor though, BasicMed still DQs some pilots.

Overall though the regulatory landscape is in flux, we will continue to see changes in aircraft certification and pilot regulations as time goes on.
 
Advice for 3 bladed

I wish I had a crystal ball, as I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on the 912iS engine kit with the two bladed prop. Here is what might happen as soon as I get my engine kit delivery. Vans will announce the 3 bladed design for the 912iS. That being said, should I hold out for the blest 3 bladed Vans design? Could never happen, or it could be next month. Your thoughts...........
 
I wish I had a crystal ball, as I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on the 912iS engine kit with the two bladed prop. Here is what might happen as soon as I get my engine kit delivery. Vans will announce the 3 bladed design for the 912iS. That being said, should I hold out for the blest 3 bladed Vans design? Could never happen, or it could be next month. Your thoughts...........

If you are going EAB, you could simply delete the prop when ordering and wait to see what wrings out. If you are going ELSA, you will need to comply with whatever Vans offers.
 
I wish I had a crystal ball, as I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on the 912iS engine kit with the two bladed prop. Here is what might happen as soon as I get my engine kit delivery. Vans will announce the 3 bladed design for the 912iS. That being said, should I hold out for the blest 3 bladed Vans design? Could never happen, or it could be next month. Your thoughts...........
My understanding is that Van's was testing and considering the 3-blade version of the ground adjustable from Sensenich. There is a thread in this forum somewhere about it and IIRC the preliminary test results were not compelling which is why they didn't proceed at that time. Of course I don't know what might have transpired inside the mothership in the meantime.

Remember, 3-blade props in general make the cowl harder to remove, typically weigh more, and typically have slightly better climb but slower cruise. Smoother feel is also a common benefit.
 
RV12 Prop and spinner

Whirlwind is great to work with. I have their 3 Blade and spinner on my 12 which has a Vikingaircraftengine.com which has no time limit (5 min then back to 80% power) also fuel injected and Electronic controled
 
That may change, with EFIS systems doing the monitoring and adjusting, minimizing workload on the pilot in the cockpit. Time will tell, more and more stuff getting automated.
"Time will tell" pretty much sums it up. I certainly wouldn't do anything counting on possible future regulatory changes. I think allowing CS props on LSA would be great, and I'd almost certainly go for one if it were possible.

Basic Med is not an option for me or my co-owner (or a few other RV-12 flyers that I know). Even if it were, there's no path from E-LSA to E-AB, so right now we have nothing but idle speculation for at least the next couple of years.
 
GA-UL350-2B

I have a WW prop on my RV12 and enjoy it. It has excellent build quality and works well. I enjoy the "infinite" adjustability of it and have settled on 18º pitch and find it very smooth in operation. I'd get into my performance numbers, but those may not be comparable if you have a Rotax.

The price for my prop and spinner was very reasonable and their support is excellent. I plan to buy another prop from them for my next build. I recommend the prop and manufacturer in general.

As a bonus, the nickel leading edge they put on all of their props is wonderful. I'm have about 200 hours on the prop now and the leading edge still looks brand new.
 
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I have a WW prop on my RV12 and enjoy it. It has excellent build quality and works well. I enjoy the "infinite" adjustability of it and have settled on 18º pitch and find it very smooth in operation. I'd get into my performance numbers, but those may not be comparable if you have a Rotax.

The price for my prop and spinner was very reasonable and their support is excellent. I plan to buy another prop from them for my next build. I recommend the prop and manufacturer in general.

As a bonus, the nickel leading edge they put on all of their props is wonderful. I'm have about 200 hours on the prop now and the leading edge still looks brand new.

How many Hobbs hours now on your commuter? We don't know what prop you may have started out with? You're adding what, 3 to 7 hours per week, commuting?

You're running a ULPower 120 hp 350 iS of some sort?

Will different rpm's of a gearboxed 912 uls with less HP have huge effect on size of prop you run, in your opinion?

Do share your performance figures, so that others considering powerplants for RV-12's can make an informed decision.
 
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How many Hobbs hours now on your commuter? We don't know what prop you may have started out with? You're adding what, 3 to 7 hours per week, commuting?

You're running a ULPower 120 hp 350 iS of some sort?

Will different rpm's of a gearboxed 912 uls with less HP have huge effect on size of prop you run, in your opinion?

Do share your performance figures, so that others considering powerplants for RV-12's can make an informed decision.

The WhirlWind GA-350UL-2B is the prop I started with, and yes, about 5 hours a week commuting. For the prop size, the diameter is 70", so similar to the one Van's provides with the kit, but has a pretty large chord line.

I have a UL350iS engine, which is a nice EFII engine; it's rated for 130 hp at 3300 rpm, but I don't normally go above 2800, which is the maximum continuous rpm. I don't see a lot value in running an extra 500 rpm to get 7 hp.

For performance, my climb rate is 1200 (GW) / 1400 (solo) fpm at Vy and 800-900 fpm at 90KT and I economy cruise at 120Kt no problem.

What moves the prop is torque, so comparing propeller shaft torque, the Rotax is 228 ft-lbs at 2100 rpm and the UL is 236 ft-lbs at 2400 - maybe it would work - I don't know, but WW has a prop designed for the 912 and that's probably a better choice.
 
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