APC slow fly props

[Emowillcox]

Just wondered if anyone has been using APC slow fly props. If so what size and what are your opinions? On my WooKong I started with the regular cheap black slowfly props while I was getting bugs worked out. Only cost me about a $1.50 when I broke props.:dejection: I like these props but have had 2 break in the air for no reason other then they were probably not made to be going at the speeds I had them at.
This past week I put some of the regular APC props on my Wookong and they are working okay, but on decent the Wookong really starts to wobble. The APC slowfly look similar to the cheap black slowfly props I have so I was thinking maybe about trying them.

 

[DucktileMedia]

I purchased the graupner 11x5's and the apc 11" and 12" props. The 12" APC SF props have been the best. I have no vibrations at all. Seem very strong. I am also running 3s so the 12" seems perfect for me.

 

[Tahoe Ed]

I tried the APC props but in cold weather they are very brittle. The slightest touch would cause them to fracture. In Texas they should be ok. At 6000 feet and 40 degree temps they suck. I am waiting for some Graupner 11x5's.

 

[RTRyder]

I'm not a fan of APC either, their cold weather performance is poor and the amount of effort it takes to get them to balance is ridiculous, I've had some that defied all attempts to get them even close. Graupners are much better in the cold and just about any other weather condition plus they come from the factory already balanced, I generally use them right out of the package. The only downside to the Graupners is they do not produce quite as much lift as the APC and they are noisy. I also have some Xoar wooden props and find them to be a good compromise between the APC and Graupners. They're certainly stiff, they don't take a lot of work to balance, and they're much quieter than the Graupners while producing more lift. At the moment I'm using all three brands on my big multis, I have APC on the MK/Droidworx AD6, Graupners on the WKM Y6 and quad, and Xoar on the MK Hexa V1, if I had to pick a favorite it would likely be the Graupners.

One thing I've found is certain flight controllers favor some props and not others, I couldn't get the WKM to fly well on APC either 11 or 12 inch but it's perfectly fine on the Graupner 11 x 5. The Droidworx heavy lifter seems to be working too hard on the Graupner 11 x 5 but is a lot smoother on APC 11 x 4.7, and teh little MK Hexa works on just about anything!

Ken

 

[Droider]

I am using the APC electric slim on my HL ADX3 (Y6) !3x6.5 They are similar in design to the Graupners and a bit cheaper.. If Graupmers made pushers in this size though it would be no contest for me.. Graupners on everything else I fly.. My little WMK quad really likes um, yes they are a tad noisy but who would want a muffler on a Shelby! I love the buzz!

Dave

 

[DucktileMedia]

Yeah, its not that cold where I live but a good thing to keep in mind. I certainly dont want to re-live the Xaircraft prop experience. Why wont Graupner just make some 12"+ props?

 

[Emowillcox]

Thanks guys for all the input on props. Now i'm thinking I wanna get some apc slow fly and quapners for testing. Any recommendations for places here in the U.S or any where for reasonable price and service?

 

[RTRyder]

Thanks guys for all the input on props. Now i'm thinking I wanna get some apc slow fly and quapners for testing. Any recommendations for places here in the U.S or any where for reasonable price and service?

APC I buy direct from APC off their website, http://www.apcprop.com/v/index.html Graupners are available from three places in the US that I know of and if they're out of stock you can generally find what you need at Electricwingman in the UK. In the USA Mikrokopter.us and Quadrocopter, the two US MK dealers carry them, and you can also go to Graupner USA at http://www.v-eastonline.com/categories/Graupner-Prop-Shop/

Ken

 

[DucktileMedia]

As i got my avrotos and esc's there, Montorc has all this stuff as well.

 

[seattle_helo]

It's very interesting to read this kind of stuff. I've got to say I am shocked at how quiet my cinestar8 is with the 14" APC props. As I load it down in testing the machine is getting louder but it's still much quieter than I expected it would ever be. I must be mistaken but I thought the material of the gray APC slow-fly props was a GRP composite. It can't be if they get brittle enough to break in cold weather. Ken, do they actually shatter?

I did notice that some of them were quite a bit out of balance. But using small aluminum tape strips (approx 4mm x 6mm) one on top of the other I was able to balance the hubs to perfection. Two of the props have about 4mm deep of tape on them. Oddly, the others had nearly perfect balance out of the package. Quite a variation.

nick

 

[Emowillcox]

Wow Droider just now noticed that looks like a lot of pitch on your props... your swinging some big props and heavy pitch. I just ordered some 12x3.8SFP but maybe I need to try out what your using.. i'm putting them on a quad for now.

I am using the APC electric slim on my HL ADX3 (Y6) !3x6.5 They are similar in design to the Graupners and a bit cheaper.. If Graupmers made pushers in this size though it would be no contest for me.. Graupners on everything else I fly.. My little WMK quad really likes um, yes they are a tad noisy but who would want a muffler on a Shelby! I love the buzz!

Dave

 

[RTRyder]

It's very interesting to read this kind of stuff. I've got to say I am shocked at how quiet my cinestar8 is with the 14" APC props. As I load it down in testing the machine is getting louder but it's still much quieter than I expected it would ever be. I must be mistaken but I thought the material of the gray APC slow-fly props was a GRP composite. It can't be if they get brittle enough to break in cold weather. Ken, do they actually shatter?

I did notice that some of them were quite a bit out of balance. But using small aluminum tape strips (approx 4mm x 6mm) one on top of the other I was able to balance the hubs to perfection. Two of the props have about 4mm deep of tape on them. Oddly, the others had nearly perfect balance out of the package. Quite a variation.

nick

They don't shatter so much as they will chip and crack very easily in cold temps, generally at or below freezing which is most of late December through February for us here in the northeast. On my small aerobatic quads it was quite a challenge to keep a set intact for more than a couple flights in the winter, just touching the ground with one on a hard landing was sufficient to take a sizeable chunk(s) out of the blade. The cheap Gaui props I use on the little quads now will take far more abuse before they get to the point of needing replacement. I haven't experimented with the bigger APC in the cold, maybe they're made of a slightly different material than the little ones and less prone to chipping and cracking, have to give it a try once the temps fall off in a few weeks. My Droidworx AD6 is noisy with both Graupner and APC although the sound is quite different for each. That's using 11 inch props and they're almost too small for dual batteries with any camera heavier than a GoPro. Problem is if I move up to 12 inch props they're too much lift unless I add some more weight and then the flight times drop significantly but the 12's are much quieter with less loading (and pitch).

I've found the hubs to be the worst of the balance issue with the APC, never thought of using aluminum tape, have to try it. I was considering building up the hub area with some JB Weld and then using a Dremel on it to get the prop balanced and since I have a set of 12 x 3.8 that I'll be using intially on my next build maybe I'll start that process today.

Ken

 

[seattle_helo]

Well thanks for the heads up about cold temps and the APC props- I'll always keep that in mind. The aluminum tape method is something I've done for years on conventional rotor blades. Relatively speaking, for a given size the mass is large so you can use less and when it's burnished down it is extremely difficult to remove. Normal flight loads on any prop or rotor are well below the threshold of the adhesive. Yet, if you do ever need to remove it it comes off clean once you get it started. Balancing those hubs on the APC props did take quite a bit of patience cutting and applying so many individual strips. Tedious and time consuming but it still has a relatively low profile. Balancing length wise is, of course, so much easier and faster with just a single small piece.

 

[DennyR]

I have been using some of my old 14x4,7 APC's that had damaged tips. I cut then down to 11" dia and they are now my best prop. combination. It means my next fully shrouded design can be much smaller. Cold weather is not such a problem here in Cyp.

 

[DennyR]

Wow Droider just now noticed that looks like a lot of pitch on your props... your swinging some big props and heavy pitch. I just ordered some 12x3.8SFP but maybe I need to try out what your using.. i'm putting them on a quad for now.

The fine pitch props can be very efficient lifters but with a quad you can get a slow yaw response. There is a balance between dia and pitch that provides the best flight performance that is not lifting efficiency alone. Trial and error is the best test that I know of.

 

[Emowillcox]

Nice photos thanks Seattle Helo... hey quick question.. what is the device in this photo

View attachment 1461

Well thanks for the heads up about cold temps and the APC props- I'll always keep that in mind. The aluminum tape method is something I've done for years on conventional rotor blades. Relatively speaking, for a given size the mass is large so you can use less and when it's burnished down it is extremely difficult to remove. Normal flight loads on any prop or rotor are well below the threshold of the adhesive. Yet, if you do ever need to remove it it comes off clean once you get it started. Balancing those hubs on the APC props did take quite a bit of patience cutting and applying so many individual strips. Tedious and time consuming but it still has a relatively low profile. Balancing length wise is, of course, so much easier and faster with just a single small piece.

 

[Bartman]

Nice photos thanks Seattle Helo... hey quick question.. what is the device in this photo

View attachment 2452

Mike,
That's a buzzer/beeper. With MK they use it to annunciate different warnings and stuff like a low battery or loss of GPS signal.

 

[seattle_helo]

Yes, and it's mounted out there to minimize any magnetic interference to the MK compass/navi board.

 

[ovdt]

I've started using JXF wooden e-props. I must say, they're far much better balanced than the APC props out of the box. Since they're wooden, they're not fragile in cold. My favorite props from JXF are 13x6 and 14x4 so far.

 

[Bartman]

was using APC's up until just recently when I finally got an order of the Xoar PJN beechwood electric props. so far they're very nice.
i thought the APC's were supposed to be near perfect right off the bat so I didn't balance them but now my bearings are a little growlie so I wonder if the APC's weren't even close to being balanced.