Great tip for balancing props


A

andythilo

Member
That's a good idea. Is it sticky enough to stay on though? I hate the velcro/superglue method. But it works. I may get some tape and try it.
 

SoCal Blur

SoCal Blur

Member
I've found that most of the time what appears to be a hub out of balance is really just one side of the blades being heavier than the other and is easily fixed with scotch tape applied to the leading and trailing edges of the lighter side of the prop. Balancing the "hub" this way is much cleaner and faster.

If you think about it, assuming that the hole is actually in the center of the hub, the hub is pretty small making it less likely that it is actually causing the balance issue. On older, large wooden airplane props there really was an issue with hubs being out of balance but on these smaller plastic or cf props, at least in my experience, its actually the blades causing the issue and easily remedied.
 

A

andythilo

Member
I always balance blades to get it sitting horizontal first by adding tape to the lighter blade. Then I put the prop vertical and see if it drops. Note the side of the hub that is underneath, flip the blade 180deg, do it again and check hub. Then balance hub to make it hangs in all 8 positions of a clock, i.e 12, 1.30, 3, 4.50, 6, 7.30, 9, 10.30. If it does, prop is balanced.
 

T

tombrown1

Member
I guess I should clarify, I was balancing 15 inch t motor props. They definitely have hub issues. I think 2 of the 6 had blades out of balance and 5 had hubs out.

I haven't flown the props yet, but the tape sticks really well. I had to remove a couple of pieces and it took a bit of effort. I'll update when I get a chance to maiden.

Best,

TB
 

SoCal Blur

SoCal Blur

Member
andythilo said:
I always balance blades to get it sitting horizontal first by adding tape to the lighter blade. Then I put the prop vertical and see if it drops. Note the side of the hub that is underneath, flip the blade 180deg, do it again and check hub. Then balance hub to make it hangs in all 8 positions of a clock, i.e 12, 1.30, 3, 4.50, 6, 7.30, 9, 10.30. If it does, prop is balanced.
Click to expand...

Right, but what I'm talking about is when it's sitting horizontally, the side of the entire prop that is facing up is the lighter side. If you apply scotch tape to the edges that are facing up, you'll find that you can balance the prop so that it holds in all positions. Give it a try. Its much easier than and cleaner looking than using CA or lead tape. If you don't like that method, you can always peel off the tape and use you're normal method.

By the way, when I say applying tape to the edges, I mean on the bottom side of those edges, not wrapped around the edges.
 


A

andythilo

Member
SoCal Blur said:
Right, but what I'm talking about is when it's sitting horizontally, the side of the entire prop that is facing up is the lighter side. If you apply scotch tape to the edges that are facing up, you'll find that you can balance the prop so that it holds in all positions. Give it a try. Its much easier than and cleaner looking than using CA or lead tape. If you don't like that method, you can always peel off the tape and use you're normal method.

By the way, when I say applying tape to the edges, I mean on the bottom side of those edges, not wrapped around the edges.
Click to expand...

Ok sounds sensible, but the cause is the hub? Is that masking the problem?

Sent from my Z30 using Tapatalk
 

SoCal Blur

SoCal Blur

Member
andythilo said:
Ok sounds sensible, but the cause is the hub? Is that masking the problem?

Sent from my Z30 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Personally, I don't believe that the hub is actually the issue. I just think its uneven weighting of the prop. But that's just my opinion based on my experience.
 

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