APC Props Question

I have just been looking, once again, at the web site for APC propellers. And, once again, I find myself unable to figure out which of the many categories of propellers are or might be suitable for C/L stunt use.
Three categories - - stunt, sport, and control line - - seem certain to be suitable to one degree or another for stunt use. But, what about those labelled as free flight? Pattern? Do these latter have any use in C/L stunt? Do any others offer some possibilities?
Thank you in advance for your help in replacing a very small bit of my large reservoir of ignorance and unfounded assumptions with some useful information.

Can you give an idea what engines you have? I run a number of APC props and I like them, not as good as carbon btu better than your typical woodies.

Happily: SSW TT .25GP; Fox BB .25; GMA/Lew Woolard Fox .35; and Randy Smith OS .40FP.
I have zeroed in on various wooden props that these motors seem to like, but would like to try some of the APCs for which there are no off-the-rack wooden equivalents.

Lately i have been reading on this forum, that those grey apc,s have the crank hole drilled "off center", Sooo i dug out my apc prop that has been in my closet for a few years and checked it out, and lol and behold,-- "that aint right" It was way outta center!! I would like to thank you guys for clue,n me in on this. I should of known somethin was "of" when the Grey Goo was pouring out the the front of the crankshaft bushing on my 35x!! anyways, as soon as i switched props, the problem went away. At first i thought it was just a heavy unbalanced piece of garbage prop. Now im sure of it!! Thanks for the input--Paul

LAST EDITED ON May-12-04 AT 09:26 PM (CDT)
 
Thanks for the info Paul!

Now back to the question Peter presented. I think your find that APC props are availible in all the same sizes plus some. I like the 11.5x4 on the 40 to 46 LA/FP, they run very well. The rest of the engines I would think the 9x4 to 10x5 range would work well. And just for the record I have close to 50 APC props and all balance with min. effort so don't believe everything you read.

Yes, the 11.5X4 works very, very well on 40 size motors. Most of the time I do not even balance. They work great and none of mine have been off center.

John:
Thank you for your suggestions.
Many on this forum have touted the 11.5x4 and the 12.25x3.75 as almost magic for particular engine/plane combinations. Both of these props are listed in the APC Prop List as "Control Line" props.
But there are other props whose numbers are intriguing for smaller engines, notably the 9.5x4.5, 9.625x3.75, and the 10.5x4.5. These, however, are listed as "Free Flight" props. Do you, or does anyone else, have any experience with any of these, or are their designs such as to disqualify them for stunt applications?
Thanks, again, for any comments.

Hi Peter,
We have used the 10.5-4.5 on FP 40s that have been modified, like the Randy Smith one mentioned, with success. It is a case of matching the prop to the plane/engine combo. This prop worked well on an average size/weight profile along the lines of a Twister.
HTH
Bill <><

I have used the 10.5-4.5 also with good results also. They do have a bunch of odd sizes so my best advice is to try them and see what you think. The only thing I don't like about APC is the tips get brittle in the cold weather and very easily break, but that's consistent with any plastic props.

Hi everyone, I,m retracting my last post. Just because i got ahold of a bad prop, it does,nt mean that all APC,s are junk!! Next time i buy one at the LHS, I,ll know to check if the hole is centerd. BTW the story about the 35x is also true. < Paul

LAST EDITED ON May-13-04 AT 03:16 PM (CDT)
 
O.K., you guys roused my curiosity. I have a couple of APC 9-4 props for my 25FPs that I had never really looked at (the FPs are NIB, picked up at bargain prices to go with my ARF Streaks). Upon close inspection, I found that the holes were not exactly centered. However, they balanced nearly perfectly on my T.F. magnetic-suspension balancer. Incidentally, a T.F. PowerPoint 10-5 which didn't balance quite as well had the hole slightly off-center also ...

FWIW