Yes, the placcy blades suffered far less drag than the metal. However, the inertia of the RAF system meant that the old FRC advice to flare to 27 degrees nose up (!) for an OEL remained in place for far too long. We soon learned that the plastic bladers flew just like an oversized Gazelle in comparison; it was a different aircraft.
We were also led to believe that the plastic blades were far stronger than the metal ones. However, a bad batch of carbon fibre had supposedly been built into some blades and this meant that they were of unknown strength.
It was later decided that all blades on RAF aircraft needed to be ultrasonically tested. A jig was brought into the hangar, the first blade was removed from the aircraft and placed in it. The ends were supported while the middle of the blade was deflected to the specified amount, by a hydraulic jack. The idea was to listen to the blade with ultrasonic detectors; any undue noise was a sign of a bad blade.
The loud crack as the blade snapped was heard by many of us on the squadron, which rather took the edge off our confidence in them.. Sure enough, the bad blades had been sold to the RAF!