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GSC prop

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Fox5flyer
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Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2007 4:34 am Post subject: GSC prop

 	  Quote: 	
		   



 Yes , GSC was told ands got pics.

 said he never seen that before.   > for what that is worth <


	


I think that is something they all say, but with our litigeous society these

days I can hardly blame them.  Admitting any fault admits guilt and opens

the door to a law suit and it doesn't take many of those to put a company

out of business.  Still, it gives them customer feedback so they can work on

improving the product.



 	  Quote: 	
		  

 I am not sure that this one was ever over torques Deke, you can see by the

 pics http://www.cfisher.com/gsc/

 that the alum. block have a "healthy gap" and I know that the owner is

very
	


 	  Quote: 	
		   aware and has built a close to  25 planes now .


	


I noticed it had a good gap and that is why I questioned the torque.  The

pics are pretty good, but they aren't nearly as good as the naked eye and

what I saw was what appeared to be damage (rot) at the break visible by the

darker colored wood.  That would easily be explained if the airplane spent a

lot of time outside in a wet enviornment.  I had a GSC that I put about 400

hours on and I trusted it completely, but it was never allowed to soak up

any water.  Near the root, just prior to where it goes into the hub, the

wood is a little rough and appears that it could absorb water if allowed to

soak in long/often enough.  Inside the aluminum hub part of the blade root

is just bare wood so any rain entering the hub (through the hub halves)

would be absorbed, and being trapped in there it would be very difficult for

it to dry out.

I wasn't aware that they were using aluminum sleeves on the newer GSC blade

roots.  Mine was a black plastic type stuff.



 	  Quote: 	
		  

 I would rule it out to age, moisture fatigue and just bad luck.   Now if

it
	


 	  Quote: 	
		   was new well I would lean more on GSC.

 That prop I think had over 300 or 400 hours on it and over 10 years for

 sure.

 Dave


	


Agreed.  The GSC (IMO) is a good value for the money and performs well, but

it isn't an all-weather prop and takes some care.  I wouldn't even think of

using one on an airplane that sits outside.  That's where the carbon fiber

types excell as they're pretty much impervious to weather, but not

everything.

Fortunately for the pilot, it happened on the ground during taxi.  That has

to be one maximum scare factor when it happens, especially while in flight.

I don't even like to think about it.

Thanks for sharing this with us.

Deke



 	  Quote: 	
		  

 FYI  I would not condemn your GSC prop over this kinda stuff but I would

 certainly make sure that you keep an eye on the condition, time of service

 in years as well as hours running time .   I think GSC says 500 hours or 5

 years ?   Over all GSC props do work well  I find. Those videos I did in

 snow and short take offs and deadsticking  in the last month was all on a

 GSC.



 A few more below,



 Here is another GSC problem

 http://www.ultralightnews.com/safety_bulletins/gsc_servicebulletin.htm



 another one ( good read )

 http://www.auf.asn.au/airworthiness/gscbladeshed2.pdf



 The problem covered in those issues related to failure of wooden blades at

 the glue line adjacent



 to the socket and possible crushing of the blade root from deterioration

or
	


 	  Quote: 	
		   over tightening of the



 bolts resulting in degraded clamping of the blade. This was aggravated by

 deterioration of the



 wood from moisture.



 A further (very well compiled) report of blade shedding has been received,

 this time involving a



 three bladed wooden GSC propeller fitted to a 912 powered Lightwing. The

 owner was



 experimenting with methods of improving engine power output and he had

 achieved an RPM



 increase from 5,600 to 5,800 RPM on climb. On levelling at 1,000ft, there

 was an almighty bang



 and the motor stopped immediately. The aircraft was landed safely and

 subsequent inspection



 revealed that all three blades had parted company with the hub.

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dave

Joined: 22 Sep 2006
Posts: 1382

Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2007 5:27 am Post subject: GSC prop

I will sum up your comments



--Plane has seen zero rain, dew  -nothing but UV while flying and is 

hanagared the other 100% of time.

condensation in spring / fall ? perhaps a bit in un heated hangar with 

concrete floor.  But wood has a moisture content and can soak up more from 

atmosphere. I would assume there are a few weeks of 100% moisture every year 

plus the humid days in summer.



Yes the owner is a long time builder and pilot , he is 84 and still flys 

often.  He is the second plane to take off  in the coffee break movie clip 

here   http://www.cfisher.com/kitfox/    It is a Kitfox clone called a raven 

which he scratch built  14 years ago and it stronger than ever now with 

brand new 503 this past summer.   He used to make allot props, but now he 

says it easier to just buy one. And like you said the GSC are good value 

ands a good performer.  I have flown with them on floats too and a good 

temporary fix it to cover the tips with urethane tap the last few inches on 

the leading edge of tip.  The tape will erode and it can be replaced.  It 

easier than fixing pitting with epoxy  to those urethane leading edges.



I might have some more blades around the shop and If I do , I will get some 

better  shots.



Dave

---

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