ORIGINAL: DarZeelon
An idling prop will not be spun faster by the ambient air it is flowing through - it does not windmill!
Boy, Dar....I really wanted to stay out of this one and you make it too hard to do that.




Okay, I'm sort of nickpicking here, but it probably needs to be said...your statement is untrue for a rotor blade in autorotation. In fact, doing an autorotation with 180 degree turn will normally accelerate a properly tracked rotor blade past redline. The forces buildup is dangerous, and you never forget the whining/screaming sound as blades and drive train approach limits. It is a sequence of events beginning with overspeed, increased load on the blades in the turn, and coning of the blades (coreolis effect).
So, can this happen in some miniscule fashion with an airplane propeller?