3 Blade upgrade 182?

[Paveslave53]

I have a 182S that I’m thinking of upgrading my prop from the 2 blade MC. To the 3 blade Simitar Hartzell. My prop is way overdue and overhaul and other than a few nicks is in good shape. I live in the mountains so I was thinking a 9% increase in climb would be great. I don’t want to loose any cruise speed but they say it cruises the same as the 2 blade. It also is supposed to reduce the noise and vibration a lot. Anyone fly with these two configurations and is it a noticeable difference? Not a good reason to spend 11k but it also looks way better.

 

[NordicDave]

I own a 182P and upgraded from 2 blade McCauley to 3 blade Hartzell scimitar Top Prop.

Pros:

• Quieter cabin as you experience three smaller impulses hitting the windscreen rather than two large ones.
• Ramp appeal, fantastic
• No measurable loss of cruise performance with scimitar blade design, however climb improves.

Cons:

• If plane has 2 piece cowling, removal & replacement is a witch
• Added cost
• Additional weight forward of the datum
• After engine shut down, one of the blades will tend to point down. This is good but you always want to check to see if the blade is pointing down aligned with the front gear. Otherwise birds may perch on the blade and defecate on the hub which in some cases can become a problem with the hub falling out of balance. I’m sure there will be a tapestry of comments on that point.

 

[AlphaMike]

I also own a 182p with the 3 blade Hartzell scimitar. I defiantly find it to be smother, but with that said, the new prop came with a new PPONK O470-50 (basically a O 520) so that might have helped. The rate of climb is awesome! Cruse speed is probably 5 - 7 knots faster but that's more to do with the motor. Ramp appeal is great in my opinion! One other thing is the sound. I love the way the 3 blade sounds at 2700 rpm on take off!

 

[szwinger]

I’ve had 2 182P, one with a PPonk one with an Airplains IO520. I’ve tried the hartzell scimitar 3 blade, the MT 3 blade and the MT 2 blade.

my opinion generally runs counter to most I’ve read on forums, so discount accordingly. If I get another 182 I will find an excuse to put a 2 blade MT prop on it. Lighter, smoother and cooler sounding than anything else. Not sure about the restart 182, but on the legacy 182 taking the weight off the nose does wonders (my opinion).

Visual appeal and ramp presence are personal preference and most prefer 3 blade. I like 2 blade better because after experiencing the 3 blade when I see one installed it looks heavy to me.

It’s also way easier to ship a two blade if you ever need to (my experience trying to get a 3 blade prop to an alternate location)

To my knowledge no one ever regretted not following my advise.

 

[Paveslave53]

I’ve had 2 182P, one with a PPonk one with an Airplains IO520. I’ve tried the hartzell scimitar 3 blade, the MT 3 blade and the MT 2 blade.

my opinion generally runs counter to most I’ve read on forums, so discount accordingly. If I get another 182 I will find an excuse to put a 2 blade MT prop on it. Lighter, smoother and cooler sounding than anything else. Not sure about the restart 182, but on the legacy 182 taking the weight off the nose does wonders (my opinion).

Visual appeal and ramp presence are personal preference and most prefer 3 blade. I like 2 blade better because after experiencing the 3 blade when I see one installed it looks heavy to me.

It’s also way easier to ship a two blade if you ever need to (my experience trying to get a 3 blade prop to an alternate location)

To my knowledge no one ever regretted not following my advise.

I love the MT props I have worked with on different aircraft. My friend has one on his RV rocket, and I worked 172s with the 3 blade they were all great. Not sure if they make one for the S model, haven’t found it anyways.

 

[asicer]

I have a 182S that I’m thinking of upgrading my prop from the 2 blade MC.

That's odd. I thought 3-bladed props were standard equipment on all of the restart 182 (post-1998)?

 

[Paveslave53]

That's odd. I thought 3-bladed props were standard equipment on all of the restart 182 (post-1998)?

I did as well but it was an option I guess. If someone wanted a better cruise speed I guess they bought the 2 blade. IDK why Cessna did it.

 

[Clip4]

Less vibration, less noise, more prop ground clearance, not much difference in climb, little nose heavier in the landing flare and slower in cruise because the aircraft CG moves forward due to more weight in front of the datum.

If you want more climb you need more HP.

 

[bfmetcalf]

I love the MT props I have worked with on different aircraft. My friend has one on his RV rocket, and I worked 172s with the 3 blade they were all great. Not sure if they make one for the S model, haven’t found it anyways.

They may not have an STC for the newer birds, but you can get them. Larry Schlasinger of Flight Resource is a friend of mine and I know he's done field approvals for their props as well as written a bunch of the STC's for them. He has a 1998 182 and it's got a MT on it, just not sure if it's a 2 or 3 blade, I think 3 blade if memory serves though. Worth a call to them, they know their stuff.

 

[kgruber]

I don't think a "three" blade is an upgrade.

heavier
more expensive
slower
not necessarily quieter (thinking 401 for the Cessna 185)
better looking????

 

[strangebird]

I have a 182S that I’m thinking of upgrading my prop from the 2 blade MC. To the 3 blade Simitar Hartzell. My prop is way overdue and overhaul and other than a few nicks is in good shape. I live in the mountains so I was thinking a 9% increase in climb would be great. I don’t want to loose any cruise speed but they say it cruises the same as the 2 blade. It also is supposed to reduce the noise and vibration a lot. Anyone fly with these two configurations and is it a noticeable difference? Not a good reason to spend 11k but it also looks way better.

I had a Cessna 182S and took off the two blade and put the 3 blade Mccauley on, all I really got was better ground clearance and it looked better, I did not get much better performance TO or cruise, it might have been a little quieter. There was not a big increase in climb performance, maybe a little less than the two blade even. Vibration was less but that could have been the two blade as it had 1000 hours on it.

The only reason I bought the prop was I found a three blade take off with factory ferry time only from a company that does seaplane conversions, it was too good to pass up at the time. By they way I paid less than half of what you are thinking for the prop I bought about three years ago, yes used but only had 3 hours on it.
Since your prop is due for OH a good time to change over if that is what you like.

 

[Lowflynjack]

Cons:

• After engine shut down, one of the blades will tend to point down. This is good but you always want to check to see if the blade is pointing down aligned with the front gear. Otherwise birds may perch on the blade and defecate on the hub which in some cases can become a problem with the hub falling out of balance. I’m sure there will be a tapestry of comments on that point.

When I stop the engine, one blade is always pointing straight up. This makes it a lot easier to hook up the tow bar, not needing to move the prop by hand.

 

[Paveslave53]

They may not have an STC for the newer birds, but you can get them. Larry Schlasinger of Flight Resource is a friend of mine and I know he's done field approvals for their props as well as written a bunch of the STC's for them. He has a 1998 182 and it's got a MT on it, just not sure if it's a 2 or 3 blade, I think 3 blade if memory serves though. Worth a call to them, they know their stuff.

So I gave him a call. And he has the 2 blade MT on his S model and he said it out preformed the 3 blades from all three manufacturers. Including MTs 3 blade. It also takes about 20 lbs off the nose and increased his cruise to 145 true which is 5 knots more than I get. But it is spendy with the field approval. Which I will do on my own to avoid that cost. Thanks for the info turns out I used to fuel his airplane when I was younger.

 

[bfmetcalf]

So I gave him a call. And he has the 2 blade MT on his S model and he said it out preformed the 3 blades from all three manufacturers. Including MTs 3 blade. It also takes about 20 lbs off the nose and increased his cruise to 145 true which is 5 knots more than I get. But it is spendy with the field approval. Which I will do on my own to avoid that cost. Thanks for the info turns out I used to fuel his airplane when I was younger.

Awesome! Glad I could help. He's a great guy with a lot of knowledge, really happy to count him among my friends.