Prop balance question?

[Buckaroo]

We have a new hanger owner who is a IA who is doing mainly prop balancing. He says most aircraft owners are niave about the benefits of having their props balanced. For $200 he’ll balance your propeller. I watched today as he did two Cessna 180’s in which I heard the feedback that their ride was much smoother. I asked him about doing my FD CTSW and he said that I could very well benefit from this procedure. 

Thoughts???

[Anticept]

It's not only the feel of the ride, but also longevity.

The entire aircraft benefits from the reduced vibrations, but especially firewall forward. Less stress on the gearbox and exhaust.

[Buckaroo]

Yes I agree but with our small blade is it worth the $200 to do it?

[Runtoeat]

I know this is an obvious statement but you won't have and answer to your question "is it worth it?" unless you have your own vibration analyzer equipment to to use in order to see the level of imbalance you might have or if  you pay some who has equipment to get it balanced.  Myself and everyone I know who've had their props balanced have noticed a difference, some notice a significant difference, some notice a small difference.  Those who have noticed a large difference probably have saved much more than the cost for balancing by not needing to fix cracked exhaust and failure of other engine components.

[Buckaroo]

We have a guy that has just started doing these and business is good for him. I’ll probably get it done as well. For $200 if it is unbalanced at all should be worth it!

[Anticept]

Just remember:

If the blade pitch is changed, or the prop itself or engine (maybe even the mounting rubber blocks but that's a bit extreme), then the prop balance is invalidated and needs to be repeated.

You'll probably want to make sure the prop is very thoroughly adjusted and correct first.

And everything needs to be indexed. Put some kind of super accurate marking as well as which blade fits where in the hub, and what angle. The hub needs to be indexed to the flange. The spinner and flange need also be indexed. Pretty much if it's disassembled, you need to make sure everything is put back together in the exact orientation it came off.

[Buckaroo]

36 minutes ago, Anticept said:

Just remember:

If the blade pitch is changed, or the prop itself or engine (maybe even the mounting rubber blocks but that's a bit extreme), then the prop balance is invalidated and needs to be repeated.

You'll probably want to make sure the prop is very thoroughly adjusted and correct first.

And everything needs to be indexed. Put some kind of super accurate marking as well as which blade fits where in the hub, and what angle. The hub needs to be indexed to the flange. The spinner and flange need also be indexed. Pretty much if it's disassembled, you need to make sure everything is put back together in the exact orientation it came off.

Great suggestion thanks!

[sandpiper]

I had mine balanced. It made a positive difference.

[Roger Lee]

$200 is cheap. Many are $300+

[Buckaroo]

Do you find it makes a noticeable difference in the composite small props?

[FlyingMonkey]

16 hours ago, Buckaroo said:

Do you find it makes a noticeable difference in the composite small props?

Yes, if the prop is out of balance.  Mine was right near the acceptable limit (0.6 IIRC), and balancing it to 0.05 made the vibration in the airplane MUCH less noticeable.  

[Buckaroo]

Great I’ll get it done and thanks!