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propeller balancing
digs out past threads.
You attach little weights (basically a bolt with some washers under it) to the circular plate which the spinner is bolted to (can’t think of the name).
(spinner bulkhead)
Stickandrudderman wrote:
What is the process for correcting an imbalance on a prop? Is it simply a question of removing material from a blade tip?
As pointed out above, an imbalance is corrected using various sized washers bolted to the prop spinner bulkhead as determined by an accelometer and supporting system.
When I dynamically balanced my prop about 2 years ago, after I bought my plane, I was surprised about the outcome. There was barely much change compared to the previous dynamic balancing eight years earlier. Just a one minor weight had to be removed. This made me wonder, how much imbalance one would expect to develop over the years, under normal operations, i.e. no FOD are other similar dramatic impacts.
Any experience? Thank you!
I have been monitoring mine for years and IME you don’t develop significant imbalance as a result of little nicks.
What is likely to be really necessary is balancing a prop when
The static balance the manufacturer and the prop overhaul shops do just isn’t good enough, and the reason for the last one above is that one is balancing not just the prop but the combination of the prop and at least the front part of the engine together.
@Michael
Do you have contacts South of France ?
How long Will it take to balance ?
Thanks to everyone for the info.
I am taking the aircraft over to Aero Services at Thurrock next week. It will take an hour or 2 to do the work and is likely to cost around £200.
Going to visit Michael at LFPN was a possibility, as I have never landed there.
My last balancing was done by a freelance guy who borrows the hangar of IAE at Cranfield. I don’t have his contact details but IAE should have them.
The biggest issue IMHO is that very few people have a proper spectrum analyser i.e. with a graphical display. Those cost a lot more. All those people I have ever used have a simple box which basically tells you where to attach the weight and how much it should weigh. It doesn’t give you an overall picture. But if you can get the out of balance figure down low enough, the end result is probably all that matters.
Peter wrote:
very few people have a proper spectrum analyser i.e. with a graphical display.
Never seen one, do you have an example of such ?
I use a Chadwick which is probably the most widely used.
In our electronics lab we use something like this. Not sure how it would be used in propeller balancing.
