I don't know anything about Checkmate, but I've been through a few props. Diameter, not pitch cured my blowout. 3/4" diameter made a big difference on a 3 blade, for me. The smaller diameter would even break loose on a hard turn.
For me, the three blade, smaller diameter props had more top end (in a straight line), but the larger diameter 3 blade, and 4 blade props had the best bite, but I lost a little on the top end.
Once I got good bite, then I played with pitch.
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