Catto Prop
-
Woodmanrog
Catto Prop
I just thought I would give a little info to new builders about the Catto Composite prop. I recently installed my second Catto my second RV6. In both cases I replaced a wooden prop. (Sterba on plane one and Sensenich cruise prop on plane two). I saw an increase in cruise speed of 8-10 KNOTS and climb improvement of about 200 fpm on boyh aircraft. Craig Catto has the formula down for building props. Just let him know what type engine and the paint color and he will take it from there. I would advise having Catto install the stc'd leading edge tape ($100.00). It will keep rain from beating off the paint. Total cost $1300.00. Great investment.
-
Spike
- Chief Rivet Banger
- Posts: 4013
- Joined: Thu Oct 14, 2004 8:40 pm
- Location: Baltimore, MD
- Contact:
Welcome Woodman. 8 - 10 knots?!?! That sounds like quite a claim. Hey, do you have any pictures?
-- John
-- John
http://www.rivetbangers.com - Now integrating web and mail!
Current Build: 2 years into a beautiful little girl
Current Build: 2 years into a beautiful little girl
There is a photo of my RV-6 with a new Catto Propeller on www.rvaero.com. The pic is in the member galleries.
hngrflyr, Woodmanrog, do tell more about Catto props!
The RV-4 I bought came with a wood Sensenich prop, 68" w/ 82" pitch. I have a 150hp Lyc and according to my CFI (who is doing my checkout) the engine doesn't produce enough static RPM. He suggested replacing it with Catto Prop.
My other option is the Sensenich metal climb prop from Vans. I'm familiar with metal props, but not composite ones like Catto.
How much does the Catto weigh? In a aft CG-sensitive -4, putting more weight on the nose would help balance out weight in the rear, right?
Have any of you asked Vans tech guys what they think of Catto prop? They do sell MT composite CS props, but only metal Sensenich for FP applications. Do you still have to periodically torque Catto like wood props? What about flying in rain?
Any other questions I should be asking?
Thx,
Max
The RV-4 I bought came with a wood Sensenich prop, 68" w/ 82" pitch. I have a 150hp Lyc and according to my CFI (who is doing my checkout) the engine doesn't produce enough static RPM. He suggested replacing it with Catto Prop.
My other option is the Sensenich metal climb prop from Vans. I'm familiar with metal props, but not composite ones like Catto.
How much does the Catto weigh? In a aft CG-sensitive -4, putting more weight on the nose would help balance out weight in the rear, right?
Have any of you asked Vans tech guys what they think of Catto prop? They do sell MT composite CS props, but only metal Sensenich for FP applications. Do you still have to periodically torque Catto like wood props? What about flying in rain?
Any other questions I should be asking?
Thx,
Max
You can give Craig Catto the static RPM you want and the engine information for your plane along with the performance parameters you expect to achieve, and he can build the propeller to suit your needs. I have a RV-6 powered by a 160hp 0-320. I had Catto build the propeller assuming I would be replacing the mags with electronic ignition, which hasn't happened yet. On a cold day at 3000' I could get 182 mph IAS at full throttle with the Sterba wood prop that was on the plane when I got it. A couple of days later I got 191 mph IAS using the Catto Propeller. Since I don't have elecronic ignition yet, my static RPM is a little low. Actually about 100 RPM less than I would like it to be. Catto will tune the propeller to get the performance you want out of it.
As for flying in the rain, Craig Catto says the standard prop is OK at 2300 RPM or below. I flew mine in real rain for the first time today. I was coming home from 145 NM away. My head wind was 40 to 50 kts and the cieling and visibility were going down, and it was raining pretty hard most of the way home. I didn't throttle back from my normal cruise of about 2450 RPM. The rain beat the paint off the leading edge of the prop, but didn't harm the propeller itself. Catto has a leading edge protector that he will apply. When he tunes the prop for me, I will have him refinish the leading edge and apply the tape. I'm still real happy with the propeller.
My Catto Prop weighs 15 lbs. That's two pounds more than the wood prop it replaced. My engine has a harmonic balancer on the flywheel that I may or may not leave in place. Depends on W&B results after I'm finished fooling around with the airplane.
The Prop is maintenace free and doesn't need to be re-torqued like wood props. The crush plate must be used like it is for a wood prop, but torque values are higher.
As for flying in the rain, Craig Catto says the standard prop is OK at 2300 RPM or below. I flew mine in real rain for the first time today. I was coming home from 145 NM away. My head wind was 40 to 50 kts and the cieling and visibility were going down, and it was raining pretty hard most of the way home. I didn't throttle back from my normal cruise of about 2450 RPM. The rain beat the paint off the leading edge of the prop, but didn't harm the propeller itself. Catto has a leading edge protector that he will apply. When he tunes the prop for me, I will have him refinish the leading edge and apply the tape. I'm still real happy with the propeller.
My Catto Prop weighs 15 lbs. That's two pounds more than the wood prop it replaced. My engine has a harmonic balancer on the flywheel that I may or may not leave in place. Depends on W&B results after I'm finished fooling around with the airplane.
The Prop is maintenace free and doesn't need to be re-torqued like wood props. The crush plate must be used like it is for a wood prop, but torque values are higher.
-
Guest
I have a Catto 2-bladed prop on my RV-4 and am quite pleased with it. At 23" MP on my friend's RV-6A with CS prop, and 23" on my RV-4 with Catto prop I gain on him slightly. It's a good looking prop too. I always receive compliments on it. And last but not least, Craig is a heck of a nice guy. I live about an hour and a half from him so I picked up my prop in person. He was very cordial and opened his home to my son and I.
When he got a new balancing machine he called me and asked me to send the prop back so he could rebalance it. No charge. He's also very willing to work with you to get your prop tweaked just the way you want it. He even cut my spinner holes out for me!
Great guy, great product. If you decide on Catto you won't be sorry.
When he got a new balancing machine he called me and asked me to send the prop back so he could rebalance it. No charge. He's also very willing to work with you to get your prop tweaked just the way you want it. He even cut my spinner holes out for me!
Great guy, great product. If you decide on Catto you won't be sorry.
Uh... that was me.So are you going to keep the harmonic balancer in place? Does it help with vibrations any?hngrflyr wrote:My engine has a harmonic balancer on the flywheel that I may or may not leave in place. Depends on W&B results after I'm finished fooling around with the airplane.
I'm still going back and forth between FP Sensenich and its 2600RPM limitation and Catto. I like the weight on the nose that Sensenich gives me, moves CG forward.
Yesterday I read about Mark Landoll's 12lb harmonic balancer. That, combined with the Catto climb prop may give me the best of all worlds -- performance, smooth performance, no RPM limitation.
Is your harmonic balancer from Landoll? I may be interested in it if you're not going to use it.
Comments, anyone?
Thx,
Max
To be honest, I haven't had much time lately to work on my own airplane. I just finished helping my AI install disc brakes on his N3N, and I have a large remodeling project at home in progress. Until I get more time to mess around with my airplane, I'm going to leave the harmonic balancer in place. I'm susposedly retired. I don't know how I ever had time to hold a real job. I guess some things are getting done that couldn't have happened when I was working a job. I need to get my Catto Prop back to Craig to get it tuned a bit. I could use more RPM.
Bobby S
Bobby S
Response
What do they want from us?:o)Yeah, I have a landoll harmonic balancer. That and a Catto prop I think are the best of all worlds. It really helped make the engine run smooth at cruise rpms and also helped with the CG. It's a good buy.