ORIGINAL: nitro-pilot

I just had a big debate with a local guy on this subject (non-RCU, non-PC in fact). He's got 26 years of RC experience, steady weekend flier, warm FL sun, year round so that's 52 years relative flying time for the northern modelers, in general.
He said he never once balanced a prop, and never experienced vibration, but was convinced his spinner was his problem tonight. I brought over my balancer and he said it's just a gimmick, and refused to let me assist, since I'm only back in the hobby 16 years, naturally he feels I can't give him any help. Remember, he doesn't even know what a forum is. 5 years reading on a forum is 26 years without!

I was searching for a thread to print out for him so he's aware it's not good to bury your head in the sand.
Funny thing is, the new moderator inspired trainer/beginner site discourages beginners to make prop balancing a concern, yet another says it's very important. [sm=spinnyeyes.gif]

Quote:

The next thing to consider is prop balancing. We both are in complete agreement on this - Don't worry about it.

We're not saying that you shouldn't balance your props, we're just saying that it is not a MUST DO item before you can fly your plane. Prop balancing will become very important if and when you ever start to fly planes with very large props (Over 16") or run extreme speed engines. But right off the shelf, most molded props are balanced closely enough for a trainer.

http://www.gettingairborne.com/engines.html

This conflicts with statements on this web page;

http://www.hooked-on-rc-airplanes.co...pellers.html#4

Quote:

Balancing the model airplane propeller is very import for several reasons. The most important reason is that the violent forces from an unbalanced propeller will destroy your engine very quickly! An unbalanced prop could also cause excessive foaming in the fuel tank in addition to damaging the radio equipment.


It is good practice to balance all of your props before taking them to the field. This way you don't have to mess with balancing the propeller when changing a prop at the airfield. It is always a good idea to remove any sharp edges from the propeller before balancing it.

Propeller Balancer

Many prop balancer tools are available. Top Flights magnetic balancer is the most accurate because the magnets eliminate friction in order to balance the prop more precisely.

Another statement for discussion:

I'll bet you can dig up a pretty convincing piece on the internet that might help convice him otherwise. Spin anything at 10,000 R.P.M. and common sense should kick in. Does he balance the tires/wheels on his automobile? Maybe that's a-lot of hoo haa to him also.

Bill

The standard way to balance the propeller is to lightly sand the heavy side. It's not really important whether you sand the front or the back. But do not remove or sand the tip of the propeller because this will cause the propeller to be dynamically unbalanced even though it may be statically balanced.


Long live the hobby, and divorce lawyers.