<ow that my custom built arducopter based quad is flying and behaving as expected, i'm wondering if i can improve flight times by optimizing the prop diameter/pitch. I have relatively high Kv motors(1300Kv) on a custom built alumnium and fiberglass reinforced plywood with 8" gaui props from a 330x. I'm able to get decent flight times on a 2300mah battery(7mins) with total flying weight of about 1100g(including camera gimal and go-pro). From reading different blogs and forum posts i can see that many designs are getting longer flight times with similar battery capcities and payloads. I wonder if the issue is that my props are producing fast downwash but not necessarily enough thrust. If I undestand the thust/torque vs. pitch speed correctly, puting a larger diagmeter prop(e.g 10") with the smallest pitch possible(to stay within the current motors operating limit of 8Amps) can potentially increase the effciency of the overall setup by producing more thrust at lower rmps and current consumption. Is my undestanding correct?
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IMHO - I suspect that the optimal prop design and dimensions to date have been worked out by DraganFlyer. see photos. http://www.draganfly.com/uav-helicopter/draganflyer-x8/index.php. Not in particular the propeller shape nearest the center as well as at the tips. Someone has done their homework on this issue. Getting that information is another problem.
For optimal flight control, the props must be as stiff as possible.