Hypothesis: swept back propeller would reduce drag and increase thrust. Any experience with this?
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$\begingroup$ @RalphJ Let's not close this question. OP is a new contributor and the question asked was not specifically about scimitar propellers. Although OP was referred to that question and the answers therein, he may not have had knowledge of scimitar propellers, or have even thought of searching for them. My reference to the already answered question was as a courtesy given his question about swept-back propellers. In my view, closing the question is inappropriate given these circumstances: a) he is a new contributor, and b) may not have known of scimitar propellers. $\endgroup$– Thomas PerryNov 19 at 21:24
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$\begingroup$ @ThomasPerry Closing a question as a duplicate isn't a negative for the OP, since not every dupe is easily found in a search. The point of closing duplicate questions isn't as a "down" for the user asking the question, but rather to keep the forum organized. And, secondarily, to keep all (or at least as many as possible) answers to a given question in one place, the original question, rather than having some answers posted to the first place a question was asked, and others posted to other threads. Neither "new contributor" nor "didn't know about" plays into these goals. $\endgroup$– Ralph J ♦Nov 20 at 1:06
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$\begingroup$ @RalphJ Excellent, & quite understandable. Thank you for the succinct explanation. $\endgroup$– Thomas PerryNov 20 at 3:17
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1 Answer
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An interesting question! There are scimitar bladed propellers. This se-aviation question has two answers giving an excellent brief summary of the advantages of these props, and also their disadvantages or limitations. In general, the advantages are higher tip speeds and reduced shock, which reduces drag, as well as net slightly smaller prop diameter, compared to straight bladed props, which reduces vibration and noise. The curved shape of the blade provides a small increase in prop efficiency. The disadvantages relate to torsion, or twisting, of the blades due to the distribution of thrust along the length of the blade. This twisting tendency is manageable as long as the sweep back of the blade is gentle and not excessive.
Scimitar propellers have been around for a long time. They are in common use on many general aviation aircraft.
