Re: Wooden Propellers

[Danny Deger]

"Dave Kearton" > wrote in message
...
> Kyle Boatright wrote:
snip
>
> From a non-owner's viewpoint, I think wooden props are a thing of
> aeronautical beauty and are sadly missed. A laminated, fixed pitch
> prop is almost an object of sculpture.
>
>
> Not meaning to wax lyrical, but a nicely crafted wooden prop is infinitely
> more interesting to look at than an alloy job or a compressor stage.
>

I used to own a Piper Vagabond with a wooden prop. It sat outside, so I had
to revarnish the prop often. I recall very vividly admiring the beauty of
the wood when I did this job.

Danny
>
>
>
>
>
>
> --
>
> Cheers
>
> Dave Kearton
>
>

[Crash Lander[_1_]]

"Danny Deger" > wrote in message
...
>> From a non-owner's viewpoint, I think wooden props are a thing of
>> aeronautical beauty and are sadly missed. A laminated, fixed pitch
>> prop is almost an object of sculpture.
>>
>>
>> Not meaning to wax lyrical, but a nicely crafted wooden prop is
>> infinitely more interesting to look at than an alloy job or a compressor
>> stage.
>>
>
> I used to own a Piper Vagabond with a wooden prop. It sat outside, so I
> had to revarnish the prop often. I recall very vividly admiring the
> beauty of the wood when I did this job.
>
> Danny

The Skyfox Gazelle I fly has a wooden prop. It has just been re-furbished.
It truly is an awesome piece of work. One downside however is that the a/c
cannot/should not be flown in even light rain, as the raindrops pit the
prop.
Oz Lander

[Morgans[_2_]]

"Crash Lander" > wrote
>
> The Skyfox Gazelle I fly has a wooden prop. It has just been re-furbished.
> It truly is an awesome piece of work. One downside however is that the a/c
> cannot/should not be flown in even light rain, as the raindrops pit the
> prop.

I take that it does not have any metal or resin leading edge inserts to
protect it?
--
Jim in NC

[Crash Lander[_1_]]

"Morgans" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Crash Lander" > wrote
>>
>> The Skyfox Gazelle I fly has a wooden prop. It has just been
>> re-furbished. It truly is an awesome piece of work. One downside however
>> is that the a/c cannot/should not be flown in even light rain, as the
>> raindrops pit the prop.
>
> I take that it does not have any metal or resin leading edge inserts to
> protect it?
> --
> Jim in NC

It does have resin leading edge inserts, but they take a beating just from
dry weather flying. I was always paying close attention to them during my
pre-flight inspection, because I was noticing the damage slowly getting
worse from week to week.
It may be a case of once the damage starts, it's all down hill for the
inserts. I'm not sure. Perhaps the new ones will be more durable.
The a/c has no screen wipers anyway. Also, being basically a kit plane, I
can't imagine it's all that water tight! ;-)
Oz Lander

[john hawkins]

Besides beauty there is another benefit to a wood propellor.
No sudden stoppages. The prop just turns into splinters.
Don't ask :)

"Danny Deger" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Dave Kearton" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Kyle Boatright wrote:
> snip
>>
>> From a non-owner's viewpoint, I think wooden props are a thing of
>> aeronautical beauty and are sadly missed. A laminated, fixed pitch
>> prop is almost an object of sculpture.
>>
>>
>> Not meaning to wax lyrical, but a nicely crafted wooden prop is
>> infinitely more interesting to look at than an alloy job or a compressor
>> stage.
>>
>
> I used to own a Piper Vagabond with a wooden prop. It sat outside, so I
> had to revarnish the prop often. I recall very vividly admiring the
> beauty of the wood when I did this job.
>
> Danny
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> Cheers
>>
>> Dave Kearton
>>
>>
>
>

[george]

On Mar 2, 6:02 pm, "Crash Lander" > wrote:
> "Morgans" > wrote in message
>
> ...
>
>
>
> > "Crash Lander" > wrote
>
> >> The Skyfox Gazelle I fly has a wooden prop. It has just been
> >> re-furbished. It truly is an awesome piece of work. One downside however
> >> is that the a/c cannot/should not be flown in even light rain, as the
> >> raindrops pit the prop.
>
> > I take that it does not have any metal or resin leading edge inserts to
> > protect it?
> > --
> > Jim in NC
>
> It does have resin leading edge inserts, but they take a beating just from
> dry weather flying. I was always paying close attention to them during my
> pre-flight inspection, because I was noticing the damage slowly getting
> worse from week to week.
> It may be a case of once the damage starts, it's all down hill for the
> inserts. I'm not sure. Perhaps the new ones will be more durable.
> The a/c has no screen wipers anyway. Also, being basically a kit plane, I
> can't imagine it's all that water tight! ;-)
> Oz Lander

We used to have brass/copper strips on the leading edge of the
propellers.
Easily replaced

[Dave Kearton]

john hawkins wrote:
> Besides beauty there is another benefit to a wood propellor.
> No sudden stoppages. The prop just turns into splinters.
> Don't ask :)
>


If such a situation were ever to occur <cough> where a wooden prop was
<aaah> converted to components, via lets say, nosing over too far and
encountering dirt, would you still require an engine rebuild ?


Purely hypothetical - of course.




--

Cheers

Dave Kearton

[Morgans[_2_]]

"Dave Kearton" > wrote in message
...
> john hawkins wrote:
>> Besides beauty there is another benefit to a wood propellor.
>> No sudden stoppages. The prop just turns into splinters.
>> Don't ask :)
>>
>
>
> If such a situation were ever to occur <cough> where a wooden prop was
> <aaah> converted to components, via lets say, nosing over too far and
> encountering dirt, would you still require an engine rebuild ?
>
>
> Purely hypothetical - of course.

I believe that Lycoming and Continental both recommend teardown inspections
for all of their opposed cylinder engines.

The only engines that _may_ be exempt are some of the large radials, under
certain guidelines of how rapidly the prop was slowed.
--
Jim in NC

[john hawkins]

not if the engine continues to run ( it might have been fence)
But certain nicknames become firmly attached ;-)

"Morgans" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Dave Kearton" > wrote in message
> ...
>> john hawkins wrote:
>>> Besides beauty there is another benefit to a wood propellor.
>>> No sudden stoppages. The prop just turns into splinters.
>>> Don't ask :)
>>>
>>
>>
>> If such a situation were ever to occur <cough> where a wooden prop was
>> <aaah> converted to components, via lets say, nosing over too far and
>> encountering dirt, would you still require an engine rebuild ?
>>
>>
>> Purely hypothetical - of course.
>
> I believe that Lycoming and Continental both recommend teardown
> inspections for all of their opposed cylinder engines.
>
> The only engines that _may_ be exempt are some of the large radials, under
> certain guidelines of how rapidly the prop was slowed.
> --
> Jim in NC
>

[Berry]

In article
>,
"Dave Kearton" > wrote:

> john hawkins wrote:
> > Besides beauty there is another benefit to a wood propellor.
> > No sudden stoppages. The prop just turns into splinters.
> > Don't ask :)
> >
>
>
> If such a situation were ever to occur <cough> where a wooden prop was
> <aaah> converted to components, via lets say, nosing over too far and
> encountering dirt, would you still require an engine rebuild ?
>
>
> Purely hypothetical - of course.

Wooden props are interesting for their physics as well. Wooden props do
not obey the law of conservation of mass. By empirical experiment, I've
demonstrated that a 72 inch wooden prop, spinning at approximately 2800
rpm, will, upon striking asphalt, generate at least twice it's mass, and
at least a dozen times it's original volume in splinters. I have filed
an invention disclosure for a process to manufacture toothpicks based on
this phenomenon.

[[email protected]]

On Mar 2, 12:22 pm, "george" > wrote:
> On Mar 2, 6:02 pm, "Crash Lander" > wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > "Morgans" > wrote in message
>
> ...
>
> > > "Crash Lander" > wrote
>
> > >> The Skyfox Gazelle I fly has a wooden prop. It has just been
> > >> re-furbished. It truly is an awesome piece of work. One downside however
> > >> is that the a/c cannot/should not be flown in even light rain, as the
> > >> raindrops pit the prop.
>
> > > I take that it does not have any metal or resin leading edge inserts to
> > > protect it?
> > > --
> > > Jim in NC
>
> > It does have resin leading edge inserts, but they take a beating just from
> > dry weather flying. I was always paying close attention to them during my
> > pre-flight inspection, because I was noticing the damage slowly getting
> > worse from week to week.
> > It may be a case of once the damage starts, it's all down hill for the
> > inserts. I'm not sure. Perhaps the new ones will be more durable.
> > The a/c has no screen wipers anyway. Also, being basically a kit plane, I
> > can't imagine it's all that water tight! ;-)
> > Oz Lander
>
> We used to have brass/copper strips on the leading edge of the
> propellers.
> Easily replaced- Hide quoted text -

Moisture gets under the brass and the wood rots behind it.
The edges of the brass mess up the airflow and reduce the prop's
efficiency. My wooden prop has a leading edge cast into it that's made
of "hard urethane," as the builder told me, and I suspect it's one of
Devcon's many urethane products, perhaps the ceramic-filled one that's
often used for repairing dinged-up machine tool ways or conveyor chain
slideways. Really abrasion-resistant, and after ten years it looks
like new. When I someday get around to building a prop that's what
I'll edge it with.

Here's a couple of their products, but in epoxies:

http://www.devcon.com/devconfamilyproduct.cfm?familyid=111&catid=15
http://www.devcon.com/devconfamilyproduct.cfm?familyid=100&catid=19

I can't find the old abrasive-resistant hard urethanes I used to use.
Maybe they dropped them.

Dan

[Oz Lander[_2_]]

wrote:

> On Mar 2, 12:22 pm, "george" > wrote:
> > On Mar 2, 6:02 pm, "Crash Lander" > wrote:
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > > "Morgans" > wrote in message
> >
> > > ...
> >
> > > > "Crash Lander" > wrote
> >
> > > >> The Skyfox Gazelle I fly has a wooden prop. It has just been
> > > >> re-furbished. It truly is an awesome piece of work. One
> > > downside however >> is that the a/c cannot/should not be flown in
> > > even light rain, as the >> raindrops pit the prop.
> >
> > > > I take that it does not have any metal or resin leading edge
> > > > inserts to protect it?
> > > > --
> > > > Jim in NC
> >
> > > It does have resin leading edge inserts, but they take a beating
> > > just from dry weather flying. I was always paying close attention
> > > to them during my pre-flight inspection, because I was noticing
> > > the damage slowly getting worse from week to week.
> > > It may be a case of once the damage starts, it's all down hill
> > > for the inserts. I'm not sure. Perhaps the new ones will be more
> > > durable. The a/c has no screen wipers anyway. Also, being
> > > basically a kit plane, I can't imagine it's all that water tight!
> > > ;-) Oz Lander
> >
> > We used to have brass/copper strips on the leading edge of the
> > propellers.
> > Easily replaced- Hide quoted text -
>
> Moisture gets under the brass and the wood rots behind it.
> The edges of the brass mess up the airflow and reduce the prop's
> efficiency. My wooden prop has a leading edge cast into it that's made
> of "hard urethane," as the builder told me, and I suspect it's one of
> Devcon's many urethane products, perhaps the ceramic-filled one that's
> often used for repairing dinged-up machine tool ways or conveyor chain
> slideways. Really abrasion-resistant, and after ten years it looks
> like new. When I someday get around to building a prop that's what
> I'll edge it with.
>
> Here's a couple of their products, but in epoxies:
>
> http://www.devcon.com/devconfamilyproduct.cfm?familyid=111&catid=15
> http://www.devcon.com/devconfamilyproduct.cfm?familyid=100&catid=19
>
> I can't find the old abrasive-resistant hard urethanes I used to use.
> Maybe they dropped them.
>
> Dan

I got a lok at the newly re-dressed prop on the a/c I learn in today,
and was surprised to see the inserts had not been replaced. They'd just
replaced/applied the laquer stuff.

--
Oz Lander.
I'm not always right,
But I'm never wrong.