Propeller for CP 65

by Mark Shayne

Jun 12, 2023

Hello, I thought I’d ask for opinions on what seems to be the best all-around propeller for the Continental A65 on a collegiate. We’ve been running a wood Sensenich, 72/42 for quite some time, and I am considering moving up to a 44 pitch. I know I would be giving up some climb performance but my cruise speeds are about 83 miles an hour. Not too shabby by any means but some documentation is touting 92 or 93. Any and all thoughts would be appreciated!

K T S B F!

Mark

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  • up

    Trevor Burns

    Yes for metal props the TCDS gives only a couple options but with wood or adjustable hubs by my interpretation you have a very wide scope of options as long as it meets the length and static RPM requirements. We put the current prop on as a test prop during restoration and it met the minimum static RPM so we decided to give it a try. Long story short… it’s too much pitch. That said, I’m still going to go fly it today.

    Jun 30, 2023

  • up

    Mark Shayne

    I have an update on this: I did go with a beautiful factory new Sensenich 72/44, and for our config it works great. Solo indicated airspeed is 90mph at 2150 rpm. With an adult sized passenger, we indicate 86mph at 2150. We didn't seem to give anything up on climb performance.

    Cheers and KTSBFS!

    Mark

    Apr 29, 2024

  • up

    Steve Ahrens

    Thank you for the update on this Mark.

    I also have an A65 running a wood 72/42 prop and noted in some old literature that it called for a 72/44. I’m in the process of selecting a new prop and concerned about climb performance with a 44, the 42 isn’t that great. Pleasing to hear you haven’t noticed a significant difference.

    Dec 31, 2024