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3 bladed props on typhoon H?

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anyone ever come across any three bladed props for our H? I contacted a company that is willing to make them, but they want me to provide the dimensions and specs... (Not even going to try) :)
Sorry I'm a performance type of guy, I love upgrading things lol.
 
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Do a forum search, there are numerous posts on 3rd party props and their consequences.
 
The biggest problem with experimenting with different props on the Typhoon H is that you have no access to the PID settings for the ESC’s. Do a web search on setting PID parameters with prop changes. The FPV racing drone sites have a lot of info on it. Without fine tuned settings motors and ESC’s can go up in smoke.
 
Making things a bit more tough is we can’t simply add a blade using dimensions interpolated from a two blade prop. Common theory is we would subtract an inch in blade length and increase pitch by an inch. It doesn’t work out that way as Reynold’s values for thrust vs RPM vs speed don’t follow a constant, especially in small RC propeller sizes. We can start with a dimensional estimate but wind tunnel testing is mandatory for refining prop design to achieve anything close to good performance, and that’s super expensive.

Having been down that road I can say that if you have a propeller that works well, leave well enough alone and keep using them. Quite often changing to a 3 blade prop fails to provide any performance increase, and hoped for noise reductions aren’t obtained as the change in diameter was accompanied by a change in noise frequency that can end up more irritating than what you started with.

Just for laughs I’ll toss in trading off a well balanced brunette wife for a more sexy in appearance blond. The brunette was a good cook, easy to get along with, and a fine companion. The blond looked better but couldn’t cook, was argumentative, and was always in competition with you. So for a relatively minor gain in one area you lost out in many other more important areas[emoji6]
 
Making things a bit more tough is we can’t simply add a blade using dimensions interpolated from a two blade prop. Common theory is we would subtract an inch in blade length and increase pitch by an inch. It doesn’t work out that way as Reynold’s values for thrust vs RPM vs speed don’t follow a constant, especially in small RC propeller sizes. We can start with a dimensional estimate but wind tunnel testing is mandatory for refining prop design to achieve anything close to good performance, and that’s super expensive.

Having been down that road I can say that if you have a propeller that works well, leave well enough alone and keep using them. Quite often changing to a 3 blade prop fails to provide any performance increase, and hoped for noise reductions aren’t obtained as the change in diameter was accompanied by a change in noise frequency that can end up more irritating than what you started with.

Just for laughs I’ll toss in trading off a well balanced brunette wife for a more sexy in appearance blond. The brunette was a good cook, easy to get along with, and a fine companion. The blond looked better but couldn’t cook, was argumentative, and was always in competition with you. So for a relatively minor gain in one area you lost out in many other more important areas[emoji6]


LMAO.. great analogy PAT,
when one goes looking for a muscle car dose he start with the prius and pull up to his friends and rev it up real loud. lol:)
I would sacrafice speed any day over stability....
 
The biggest problem with experimenting with different props on the Typhoon H is that you have no access to the PID settings for the ESC’s. Do a web search on setting PID parameters with prop changes. The FPV racing drone sites have a lot of info on it. Without fine tuned settings motors and ESC’s can go up in smoke.


My main thoughts on this was more of a how does it fly? better worse, I get there is major mathematical skill needed to understand the metrics of a propeller.
there will always be a sacrifice of one vs the other. My thought were of fact that more blades offers more stability, but also increases the back wash of the air moving thorough them. there will always be a give and take approach to anything. I don't use my 2 H's for professional or photography use, so any and all use is for pure joy....
 
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With multirotors the propellers are more a function of thrust and speed, the FC deals with stability. The motors have to respond very quickly to constantly changing FC commands to maintain stability so the prop needs to have a reaction mass that allows the motors to spool up and down fast enough to match command inputs. This is where things get a bit tricky as a really fast prop may not generate an adequate amount of thrust in the time allotted, or it may generate too much and require reworking the PID’s to compensate for prop performance.

When it was originally released the H had fairly sprightly control response, which caused the H to appear unstable when departing from a hover. In effect it was designed to please experienced pilots that had already developed advanced stick skills. Despite that minor twitchy condition the aircraft was quite stable and suffered nothing for the initial twitches during departure from hover.

Following firmware upgrades successively “de-tuned” the H’s PID’s to permit new flyers to develop the confidence necessary to fly the H without experiencing “twitchiness”. Throughout the firmware upgrades the H has remained extremely stable for it’s size but unfortunately became slower in several aspects as a result of de-tuning. I doubt there’s much that could be done to make it more stable than it currently is. My opinion has 3 blade props making it less stable as my experience with 3 blade props has consistently shown them to be slower in thrust response than two bladed props. It’s a “disturbed air” thing, I think, as 3 blade props operate in a more disturbed aero environment. They also don’t “brake” as well on a downline due to having a smaller disc area. But multirotors don’t normally operate on a downline.

I really liked the way the original firmware flew but found the H became boring in flight after the firmware upgrades.
 
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anyone ever come across any three bladed props for our H? I contacted a company that is willing to make them, but they want me to provide the dimensions and specs... (Not even going to try) :)
Sorry I'm a performance type of guy, I love upgrading things lol.

Adapted the MR 3 blade Series from Master Airscrew, have flown a couple of times.

Prop adapter: Small-Parts-CNC - Blade-350-QX-350-QX2-350-QX3-Prop-Adapter-Set-NC0161

3 blade props : Master Airscrew - mr-series 3 blade 9x4-5 - black

Not too much noticeable difference other than its quieter and has a different lower sound profile.
Didn't notice any significant battery life difference either pro or con.

The key disadvantage is the props aren't easily removable like the stock props, the arms still fold down but it wont fit in the backpack :)

Total cost was under 100 dollars to do the test. YMMV.

I do think the 3 blade props sound better.. a little less intrusive.
 

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Adapted the MR 3 blade Series from Master Airscrew, have flown a couple of times.

Prop adapter: Small-Parts-CNC - Blade-350-QX-350-QX2-350-QX3-Prop-Adapter-Set-NC0161

3 blade props : Master Airscrew - mr-series 3 blade 9x4-5 - black

Not too much noticeable difference other than its quieter and has a different lower sound profile.
Didn't notice any significant battery life difference either pro or con.

The key disadvantage is the props aren't easily removable like the stock props, the arms still fold down but it wont fit in the backpack :)

Total cost was under 100 dollars to do the test. YMMV.

I do think the 3 blade props sound better.. a little less intrusive.




Chad, hows the stability? any noticeable difference? Is the response any different? and do you plan on trying different pitches at all?
 

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