"Don McIntyre" wrote:

Why did they settle on the 3-blade configuration? Wouldn't a 4-bladed
system allow for a smaller footprint on the ground (or ship)? Or is
there too much thrust loss involved?

Well, you can bet your arse that all configs were considered,
number of blades, length pitch width of blades, RPM range etc
etc...That a/c is a real departure from the conventional and must
have been a real headache to design and proove. I hope that they
now have a safe aircraft, they sure had their teething problems
didn't they?...
--

-Gord.
(use gordon in email)