Prop Issues

Has anybody had a problem with keeping your back cylinder cool when switching from a Sensenich wood prop to a Whirlwind prop? Engine stays cool with the wood prop. I put the Whirlwind prop on and set the pitch at 15.5 degrees and the back cylinder gets warm? Any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated. 

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Permalink Reply by John Austin on September 3, 2026 at 8:09am

Does the Whirlwind prop have a relatively thinner blade/shorter chord near the hub than the Sensenich had?  I've found that blades that are wider/longer chord near the hub cool better as they push more air into the cowl intakes vs a "skinny" blade.  When I had a late Gen 2, I had problems with cooling #5 cylinder (which typically is the one that is difficult to cool) and eventually solved it by sealing the ram air duct meticulously and installing "butterfly" baffles. See this topic: Jabiru 3300 Cooling Enhancements

I also put plates between the tops of the cylinders to keep air from escaping there:

I now have a Gen 4 with all-aluminum cylinders and it was really easy to cool - no modifications whatsoever!  Installed it right out of the box and runs really cool!

John

N750A

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