 Re: ONE BLADE PROP!!!!
Propellers have one, two, three or four blades. Single blade propellers are counter-balanced and used on extremely high rpm racing motors. I've never seen these sold anywhere and suspect they are built by the user. You don't need to even think about these props unless you're building control line speed aircraft. In fact, they may not even be used any more. I haven't been paying attention.
In our realm, the most efficient propellers are two bladed. Because the diameter of our propellers is so small, multiple blade propellers disturb the air that the trailing blade is entering. Therefore, 3 and 4 blade propellers are less efficient.
In general, the only time a 3 or 4 blade propeller should be used is for a more scale appearance or when a smaller propeller disk is necessary.
For example, a scale, twin-engine aircraft may not be able to swing a 2-blade propeller of a small enough diameter to clear the sides of the fuselage. A three and four blade prop can be used here because it can be a smaller diameter and present the same load on the engine. For best performance with sport aircraft, stick to 2-blade propellers.
I have only seen a handfull of these myself but if you look at the record holder for control line alot of them use this style of prop. |