Traveler Propeller Upgrade

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    • February 9, 2021 at 21:32 #15312
      Robert Hinds
      Participant

      I just purchased a 1975 traveler and am unable to get it to fly near book speeds. On a 6+ hour cross country, it typically showed about 110knots, not bad but not the 125+ the book says it should get. I believe it may have a climb prop because today I was seeing in excess of 1000fpm on departure and from what I have read, it should climb at much less. Has anyone attempted to install a Sensenich cruise prop? They have one for this engine/airframe but I am not willing to spend that kind of money if it does not improve speed to closer to published numbers. Moreover, I am concerned it will adversely climb performance – something I have read could be a problem in this model in the summer heat. Any ideas?

    • February 10, 2021 at 07:24 #15313
      Jerry Getsay
      Participant

      Remove your propeller and measure the pitch. Google search will show you how. I recently had my prop overhauled and re-pitched from a climb prop (56) to a cruise prop (59). I measured it after they finished to verify that it was done properly. The cost to re-pitch was $150.

    • February 10, 2021 at 07:50 #15314
      Roscoe Rosché
      Keymaster

      The biggest drag to speed in our planes is rigging. Get it rigged right and then see what your speed is, I have seen 2 travelers (73 and 75) get 14 and 20 knots from just rigging. Yes they were way out but all with factory markings on the rigging places.

    • February 10, 2021 at 15:38 #15316
      Robert Hinds
      Participant

      The prop has been overhauled fairly recently so I am unwilling to make a pitch change to a good propeller. I actually like the idea of having a spare prop – one for cruising and one for putting around with decent climb performance in the summer heat. I am most interested what the performance differences were with those of you who have changed from a climb to cruise propeller and if it is worth the $.

    • February 18, 2021 at 17:26 #15353
      Michael “Yo-yo” Rees
      Participant

      Hi Robert,

      Congrats on the Traveller purchase! While I can’t tell you which prop I prefer, I can share some data with you.

      I purchased a ’78 AA-5A, and needed to do an O/H on the O-320-E2G.

      Lycon did the work. I had the Bill Scott/Precision Engine high-compression STC modification and Lycon did the porting, polishing, and alodine treating of the h/c cylinders. Also, I had FletchAir put on the STC Sensenich prop, that was developed for exactly that engine with the h/c STC.

      At my last fueling top-off, my tach since o/h showed 48.06 hours, and my hobbs showed 58.70 hours. My estimated flight time using a timer was in the ballpark of 55.6 hours +/-. To that point, I had burned 406.210 gallons of fuel; meaning it appears I’m burning approximately 7.5gph.

      David Fletcher would be able to give you a much more in-depth understanding of the prop, that he holds the STC for, tailored to this airframe/engine configuration. But, to say I love it, would be grossly understated!!!

      I do intend to add some form of electronic ignition down the road, which should improve my fuel economy even more.

      ENJOY THAT AA-5 and WELCOME TO THE GRUMMAN FAMILY.

      -Yoyo

    • March 13, 2021 at 23:20 #15452
      Robert Hinds
      Participant

      Thanks, Yoyo, that is useful information. Recently, I have developed a concern about my propeller. It appears to have an uneven thrust issue. I cannot be sure (I have not measured the pitch) but I am getting a slight vibration at take-off power and have noticed a thumping sound that appears to be about 1 thump per revolution. Should it be a poorly pitched side, 1 thump per rev would make sense. It may not be the prop, in fact it may be nothing, but until I get an experienced Grumman pilot to fly with me, I have no way to be certain. Otherwise, the plane flies great and I am very pleased with my purchase. Thanks for the advice!

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