SENSENICH Awarded STC for Carbon Fiber Adjustable Prop for Super Cub

January 13, 2021 By kent

Sensenich has been awarded a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) for its carbon ground adjustable pitch STOL propeller on Piper Super Cub Aircraft. This STC allows installation on PA-18 “150” aircraft with Lycoming O-360 series engines, with future STCs planned for Lycoming O-320 powered Super Cubs and certain popular training aircraft. “Our experimental customers have been raving about this propeller for several years, and now we can offer the same step up in performance to our certified customers,” says Sensenich President Donald Rowell.

Rowell continued, “This propeller’s quick and sure pitch adjustment gives the customer the option of maximum performance no matter what the flight profile may be.”

Extensive testing required during the certification project in Alaska showed improved take-off, climb and cruise performance compared to what’s considered the industry standard fixed-pitch STOL propeller. When pitched for the same climb rpm as the standard propeller, climb rate was increased by 140ft/min, cruise speed was identical, and full-throttle level flight (FTLF) speed increased by 7 mph. When re-pitched to match the industry standard propeller’s climb rate, cruise speed was increased by 8 mph and FTLF speed increased by 18 mph.

The new Sensenich composite propeller is less than half the weight of the legacy STOL propeller – 21 pounds vs. 44 for the metal unit. The propeller is available in diameters from 78” to 82”. The STC also covers a 12” diameter, balanced composite spinner. This STC will be available for new build propellers starting the first quarter of 2021. Pricing for the propeller with STC documentation is $6350 FOB Plant City. Adding the spinner brings the price to $7085 (including STC docs).

Sensenich began making wooden propellers in the early 1930s, introduced metal propellers in the ’40s, developed composite propellers in the late ’90s, and continues to push boundaries in the light aircraft, unmanned, and marine propulsion markets.