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TigerAirshows
Joined: 08 Aug 2009
Posts: 15
Location: Atlanta, GA
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 Posted: Tue Nov 24, 2009 3:16 pm Post subject: Prop balancing |
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Hey guys/gals!
Well I am now a full believer of dynamic prop balancing. I must say that was the best $200 I have ever spent. So here's my story. I have a 3 blade MT prop on my M14. I have always wondered since I bought the airplane if It was running rough or what could be the problem to why it shakes a bit more than normal. After going through the plane nose to tail this fall, I had only one thing left to check. The balance of the prop to the engine. I had always assumed that since I saw weights on the prop hub, that it was balanced. Well it was some what.
We started with a base line of what the current vibration level was. Its is measure is IPS. Mine was .35 ips. So then we removed the weights that were installed and took another measurement and it went to .56 ips. Now to put this all in perspective as .5 doesn't sound like alot. When I made the mistake of putting the weight on the wrong side spinner (not the mechanics fault, I was just trying to trying to help  ) the next reading went to .9 ips and just about shook the stick out of my hand at 40%.
Getting the weight in the right place got the next reading down to .15 ips. I thought that was a huge difference and was satisfied with that. But Andy, the mechanic, said he could do better. Taking the weight up another couple of grams we got it tuned to .07, striving for perfection we did one more adjustment and got the final reading to .043. Now let me tell you, after that was all said and done I thought I was flying a turbine or electric powered Yak it was so much smoother.
This alone will definitely slow down some of the wear and tear on the aircraft. I am curious as to any other stories out there reference to prop balancing. I just can't believe I haven't check that sooner. I mean I do it with all my vehicle wheels, why would an airplane be different.
Anyway, if you are anywhere near the Atlanta area, I highly recommend contacting Andy Akin 770-778-8936. He is a Delta airlines IA mechanic by night and does GA prop balancing by day. He lives at a fly in community with a 3000' paved strip so a direct visit to him and a balance while you wait would be no problem. He is also a pilot so I guess he could come to you if it was more economical.
I just wanted to pass that along, for those of you who are interest in getting your radial running the smoothest it can. It definitely worked for me.
Fly safe everyone!
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Mark Sorenson-
www.tigerairshows.com |
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k7wx(at)earthlink.net
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| Posted: Tue Nov 24, 2009 4:24 pm Post subject: Prop balancing |
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Mark,
Before my test flight of the CJ / Housai-6 that I ended up buying, Jim Selby took the time to have the prop balanced by someone in San Jose to an incredible 0.01! Very smooth.
Agreed... certainly worth doing.
Warren Hill
CJ-6A N867PA
On Nov 24, 2009, at 4:16 PM, TumblingTiger wrote:
| Quote: |
Hey guys/gals!
Well I am now a full believer of dynamic prop balancing. I must say that was the best $200 I have ever spent. So here's my story. I have a 3 blade MT prop on my M14. I have always wondered since I bought the airplane if It was running rough or what could be the problem to why it shakes a bit more than normal. After going through the plane nose to tail this fall, I had only one thing left to check. The balance of the prop to the engine. I had always assumed that since I saw weights on the prop hub, that it was balanced. Well it was some what.
We started with a base line of what the current vibration level was. Its is measure is IPS. Mine was .35 ips. So then we removed the weights that were installed and took another measurement and it went to .56 ips. Now to put this all in perspective as .5 doesn't sound like alot. When I made the mistake of putting the weight on the wrong side spinner (not the mechanics fault, I was just trying to trying to help [Embarassed] ) the next reading went to .9 ips and just about shook the stick out of my hand at 40%.
Getting the weight in the right place got the next reading down to .15 ips. I thought that was a huge difference and was satisfied with that. But Andy, the mechanic, said he could do better. Taking the weight up another couple of grams we got it tuned to .07, striving for perfection we did one more adjustment and got the final reading to .043. Now let me tell you, after that was all said and done I thought I was flying a turbine or electric powered Yak it was so much smoother.
This alone will definitely slow down some of the wear and tear on the aircraft. I am curious as to any other stories out there reference to prop balancing. I just can't believe I haven't check that sooner. I mean I do it with all my vehicle wheels, why would an airplane be different.
Anyway, if you are anywhere near the Atlanta area, I highly recommend contacting Andy Akin 770-778-8936. He is a Delta airlines IA mechanic by night and does GA prop balancing by day. He lives at a fly in community with a 3000' paved strip so a direct visit to him and a balance while you wait would be no problem. He is also a pilot so I guess he could come to you if it was more economical.
I just wanted to pass that along, for those of you who are interest in getting your radial running the smoothest it can. It definitely worked for me.
Fly safe everyone!
--------
Mark Sorenson-
www.tigerairshows.com
Read this topic online here:
http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p 74690#274690
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rick(at)rvairshows.com
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Nov 24, 2009 6:45 pm Post subject: Prop balancing |
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I also had my MT prop dynamic balanced to .03 ips. It was
recommended that the engine run be done at max cruise power. This
makes this rpm the smoothest, falling off in either rpm direction.
Flying at max cruise and full power, I was not happy with the
balance. I strapped the balance monitor to my leg and flew at
different power levels, recording the ips scores. Flying at 440 kph
(Sukhoi), I had serious vibration. Following the solution to
balance at full power at that speed gave me a smooth prop at that
speed and power level only. The other speeds and power levels would
shake your teeth out. I was told that my engine was bad until I put
the prop on a friend's Sukhoi and he had the same result. His prop on
mine was smooth. MT did a warranty swap of blades and solved the
problem. I had gone through having the original new blades stripped
and balanced and reinstalled twice. No one could find out what their
problem was. The blade angles checked out to be perfect. It
balanced perfectly on the ground. Unacceptable in the air. Thank
you MT for rectifying this blade problem. My belief is that one of
the blades was flexing far more than the others. One blade even
showed lateral craze lines over half the blade in the first 10 hours
of use, similar to what you see on a 1000 hr Unlimited prop. MT is
examining this set of blades now.
My point is that the prop is known to be the likely culprit for
vibration and a dynamic balance score of .03 ips on the ground does
not guarantee there is not something else wrong with the blades. Be
persistent. It could also be a bad governor, engine electrical
harness shorting out, broken engine mount, etc. The list is too
long. Don't be afraid to swap props with a friend to help
diagnose. That is how I came to appreciate GT propellers. Once you
have a smooth prop, you will never want to be the donor. I would not
part with my MTV9, now that it is perfect.
Rick Volker
On Nov 24, 2009, at 6:16 PM, TumblingTiger wrote:
| Quote: |
<captainsorenson(at)hotmail.com>
Hey guys/gals!
Well I am now a full believer of dynamic prop balancing. I must
say that was the best $200 I have ever spent. So here's my story.
I have a 3 blade MT prop on my M14. I have always wondered since I
bought the airplane if It was running rough or what could be the
problem to why it shakes a bit more than normal. After going
through the plane nose to tail this fall, I had only one thing left
to check. The balance of the prop to the engine. I had always
assumed that since I saw weights on the prop hub, that it was
balanced. Well it was some what.
We started with a base line of what the current vibration level
was. Its is measure is IPS. Mine was .35 ips. So then we removed
the weights that were installed and took another measurement and it
went to .56 ips. Now to put this all in perspective as .5 doesn't
sound like alot. When I made the mistake of putting the weight on
the wrong side spinner (not the mechanics fault, I was just trying
to trying to help [Embarassed] ) the next reading went to .9 ips
and just about shook the stick out of my hand at 40%.
Getting the weight in the right place got the next reading down to .
15 ips. I thought that was a huge difference and was satisfied
with that. But Andy, the mechanic, said he could do better.
Taking the weight up another couple of grams we got it tuned to .
07, striving for perfection we did one more adjustment and got the
final reading to .043. Now let me tell you, after that was all
said and done I thought I was flying a turbine or electric powered
Yak it was so much smoother.
This alone will definitely slow down some of the wear and tear on
the aircraft. I am curious as to any other stories out there
reference to prop balancing. I just can't believe I haven't check
that sooner. I mean I do it with all my vehicle wheels, why would
an airplane be different.
Anyway, if you are anywhere near the Atlanta area, I highly
recommend contacting Andy Akin 770-778-8936. He is a Delta
airlines IA mechanic by night and does GA prop balancing by day.
He lives at a fly in community with a 3000' paved strip so a direct
visit to him and a balance while you wait would be no problem. He
is also a pilot so I guess he could come to you if it was more
economical.
I just wanted to pass that along, for those of you who are interest
in getting your radial running the smoothest it can. It definitely
worked for me.
Fly safe everyone!
--------
Mark Sorenson-
www.tigerairshows.com
Read this topic online here:
http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p 74690#274690
|
| | - The Matronics Yak-List Email Forum - | | | Use the List Feature Navigator to browse the many List utilities available such as the Email Subscriptions page, Archive Search & Download, 7-Day Browse, Chat, FAQ, Photoshare, and much more:
http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?Yak-List |
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