I don't lockwire my prop bolts either. Wooden props loosen up quickly, especially soon after installation, and should be re-torqued after a few hours of flying, and then two or three times (and every six months) afterwards. With locknuts, I retorque mine just about every time the top of the cowling is off, which is not that often, I'll admit. If they were lockwired, I'd be a lot less likely to do that. I've never had one come loose, but they have all needed retorquing due to the wood slowly creeping. I the only lockwire on my plane is what I used to wrap the heat muffs to hold them in place, and I'm fine with that.
The nuts I use are steel lock nuts, however, and they work fine. Something to be kept in mind is that new ones have a "running torque" of about 4-5 ft-lbs, so take that into consideration when torqueing the prop. If the prop maker says 15 ft-lbs, make it 20 to compensate for the extra torque required to turn the locking part of the nut. That weakens over time and usage to maybe 2-3 ft-lbs. Purists would replace them at every use, or at least more often than I do. I'm still using my original set. Call me stupid, or call me a conservative cheapskate, either way. What people may not realize is that the Corvair is a super smooth running engine, and doesn't vibrate like a big four cylinder Lycosaurus engine...probably a factor of 20 difference, if not more. It makes a difference in a lot things... Mark Langford N56ML "at" hiwaay.net website at http://www.N56ML.com
