Specifically, here's the first XP-47 prototype with its conventional
four-blade prop: http://www.warbirdsresourcegroup.org...es/xp47j-1.jpg

And here's the late-war P-47D with the paddle blade prop. Note the cuffs
around the prop roots. http://home.att.net/~historyzone/p-47d-27-re.JPG

"George Patterson" wrote in message
news:qWaOe.2407$SW1.1776@trndny09...
Frankie wrote:

...not familiar with this example. Perhaps you could fill us in.

Early P-47s had a fairly typical military prop when they first came out.
The planes were heavy for a single (over 7 tons). They had pretty good
high altitude performance, unbeatable dive characteristics, could take
immense amounts of punishment, but they didn't maneuver well (compared to
planes like the Spitfire) and they guzzled gas. Later in the war, the
Thunderbolt was re-equipped with a prop which had comparatively wide
blades -- the pilots called it a "paddle-blade" prop. Rate-of-climb and
maneuverability immediately improved to the point that a good Jug pilot
could out-maneuver a Spitfire. Fuel consumption also improved a bit. The
prop simply made better use of the engine's power.

Not sure this is applicable to the Mooney. I suspect that the short legs
on the Mooney make a short prop necessary, so a paddle blade gets the best
results.

Don't forget that a prop is essentially a rotating wing. Increase the
width of a wing and you will increase lift (at the expense of increased
drag). When the wing is your prop, that increased "lift" translates to
increased thrust. With the P-47, the plane had the power to make the
increased drag unimportant.

George Patterson
Give a person a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a person to
use the Internet and he won't bother you for weeks.