Cessna FT337GP - 3 blades prop

[mshac]

As the old saying goes, "there is nothing free in aviation." If you increase your rate of climb with three blades, you will lose cruise speed.

My 310 still has two bladed props, even though all the cool kids switched over to three blades. My reasoning is the airplane spends most of its time in cruise flight, so I choose to optimize flight in that condition. I've flown formation with similar 310's, and the two-bladed birds are consistently 3-4 knots faster at the same fuel flow settings in cruise flight.

Plus its less expensive to keep the props you've already got!