Gemfan carbon props

[rcflyerheli]

I'm not referring to the full molded CF props, but rather to the plastic props with the carbon reinforcement. The ads that I saw and that I ordered the props through indicated that the carbon reinforced props were (are) supposed to be 10 times more rigid than the normal plastic ones and the stock DJI props.

I ordered a dozen 9 x 4.7s. I also ordered a set of 10 inch. The 10 inch props were noticeably stiffer than the 9 inch ones. I talked with customer support regarding the flexibility of the 9 inch props, and was told that Gemfan has come out with new carbon reinforced props that are more flexible so they don't shatter.

Has anyone else seen this? I also noted that the molded prop size and Gemfan name are not all the same. Any Ideas?

Also, FWIW, my DJI 550 flew like crap with the 10 inch props. Extremely unstable. I was happy to get it down with nothing broken. I went back to the stock 8 inch DJI props, and it returned to its former good flying self.

[Subaru4WD]

I have been flying with GemFan Props since I started this hobby. I was getting nylon props cause they were cheap and I knew my quad would end up prop down often.

Those props were a pain to balance and flexed a lot in the air. I was sick of them so in January I ordered my first set of Nylon/Carbon Reinforced props. I ordered a set of 9" and a set of 10' props for testing new motors. Immediately I was shocked how much stiffer they were over the standard nylon props. However balancing them was a larger pain in the butt. And I could never get them 100% perfect.

Last week I got fed up with video-jello and bit the bullet and bought a set of 1047 Full Carbon Fiber GemFans. Received them today and only had a minute to fly but I am amazed. These props never touched my balancer and my video is smooth as glass! Also, they are extremely stiff. If I lift my quadcopter by the prop end (how I have been testing prop flex with my quad setup) my quadcopter arm flexes before my prop does. The carbon fiber props wont flex AT ALL. I am afraid of forcing the prop to flex, but under just basic "finger tests" these props are strong as steel. They are also a lot lighter, so balancing them should not be a chore.

I made this short video tonight after mounting the new Carbon Fibers...
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTblrtoieFo[/ame]

[Subaru4WD]

Originally Posted by rcflyerheli

I ordered a dozen 9 x 4.7s. I also ordered a set of 10 inch. The 10 inch props were noticeably stiffer than the 9 inch ones. I talked with customer support regarding the flexibility of the 9 inch props, and was told that Gemfan has come out with new carbon reinforced props that are more flexible so they don't shatter.

Has anyone else seen this? I also noted that the molded prop size and Gemfan name are not all the same. Any Ideas?

I did notice my 9" carbon/nylon props do look beefier at the hub than the 10" carbon/nylon props. But the 9" are 4.7 pitch and the 10" are 4.5 pitch. I did not notice any difference in the Gemfan name, but i dont think i looked that hard.