Here's the thing.


I ordered a DLE Single Bolt Prop Adapter from Valley View RC: Installation instructions. This is for an RCGF 32; the bolt pattern matches the DLE 30 so I thought I'd give it a shot.


I found a socket that fits - almost. It's the right size but I can only engage the first couple of mm of the prop bolt. Attempts to open the socket a little inside have not been successful.


Reading the manual, I see that once the prop bolt is out it is necessary to cut off a substantial part of it:





That got the wheels turning - what if I cut a few mm off the still-installed prop shaft so that the socket will fit?





At this point the little voice in my head spoke up. You know the one - it tries to tell you that you've had enough flying for today or that you should put on some eye protection before spooling up the Dremel to 50,000 RPM. I've gotten better at listening to it, really! The voice told me to put on the brakes and check for opinions on the matter. Here are my concerns:

• The vibration and heat from the cutting process might damage the engine
• The adapter, being for a DLE 30, might not fit
• Neither the back plate nor the drive washer are toother, so I'm wondering what's left to grip the prop enough to spin it when the four bolts are gone

Any and all advice is welcome.

The adapter has been designed for a DLE30 and DLE50/55; hence, it may not match your four holes exactly or any step that goes inside the central hole.
The problem is that you will need to remove the hub retaining nut in order to verify that.
The instructions show that a regular deep socket will suffice for removing that nut.
It seems that the hub retaining nut of your engine is longer and a deep socket don't work.

Not being sure that the new assembly will work for your engine, I wouldn't cut in place and ruin the hub retaining nut, unless you have a spare.
I don't believe that a cut in place will damage your engine.
The lack of toother is just to make fabrication less expensive; I guess they trust the four holes to increase the grip on one side of a wood propeller, if compressed enough by the central nut.

Before ordering the adapter I made sure that the four-bolt pattern is the same between the DLE 30 and the RCGF 32. And I've got another approach for hollowing out the socket so I'll try that before I cut the prop shaft.