Prop Balancing -- Tips?

Jay Honeck

Jay Honeck

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Jay Honeck
I've made an appointment to have the prop balanced on Amelia (our new RV-8A) next Wednesday here: http://expaircraft.com/PropBalance.htm

This shop comes highly recommended, especially by the RV guys.

I had the prop on my Piper Warrior balanced back in the late '90s, and it made a nice difference in smoothness. I'm hoping that Amelia benefits from the same treatment.

Any prop balancing experts out there, that might comment on the methods and equipment this shop is using? Any tips on what to watch them do, or not do? The price seems reasonable, and the shop owner answered an email within 30 minutes, which is some sort of a record. :D
--
Jay
 
Depends on the type of equipment they will use, when we did mine in school it was as simple as a bit of reflective tape on one blade, an electric eye and two accelerometers all plugged into a computer
 
Skylane81E said:
Depends on the type of equipment they will use, when we did mine in school it was as simple as a bit of reflective tape on one blade, an electric eye and two accelerometers all plugged into a computer
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Yeah, that's what this looks like, too.

I flew in Jay Pratt's RV-8 in May, and was impressed with how silky smooth everything was. He raved about what a difference prop balancing made, so I'm hopeful that it will have the same effect on Amelia.

She's smooth, but I want her smoother... :D
 
Skylane81E said:
Depends on the type of equipment they will use, when we did mine in school it was as simple as a bit of reflective tape on one blade, an electric eye and two accelerometers all plugged into a computer
Click to expand...

Same here.. JHA uses a Aces unit and it is deadly accurate... :yes::)
 
Jay Honeck said:
Yeah, that's what this looks like, too.

I flew in Jay Pratt's RV-8 in May, and was impressed with how silky smooth everything was. He raved about what a difference prop balancing made, so I'm hopeful that it will have the same effect on Amelia.

She's smooth, but I want her smoother... :D
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It's my understanding that balancing the pistons and other engine parts can make the engine smoother. :D
 
The link you provided indicated that they use "microvibe II" equip. When I had my prop balanced...about 8 years ago...that was the best stuff on the market.

That reminds me...it's time to do it again...
 
Skylane81E said:
Depends on the type of equipment they will use, when we did mine in school it was as simple as a bit of reflective tape on one blade, an electric eye and two accelerometers all plugged into a computer
Click to expand...

Do you have the equipment to do that now? I want to get it done on the 310.
 
Bob Noel said:
It's my understanding that balancing the pistons and other engine parts can make the engine smoother. :D
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Yeah, and Jay Pratt's RV-8 has a blueprinted/balanced/polished/etc. custom engine. Ours is just a plain-vanilla Lycoming O-360, so we will probably never match the sewing-machine smoothness of his engine -- but we can try.
 
Before balancing make sure you have the engine tuned up and all bugs removed from the prop. It is a good idea to have the plugs cleaned and gapped, and check the timing. If this was done at the pre buy / annual they you are good to go. Double check to make sure the spinner screws are all the same length.

Dynamic balancing is one of the best and cheapest things you can do to a airplane or helo.

Are you having any vibration issues now?

I balance props for fun and profit. I have a Dynavibe. :D
 
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Geico266 said:
Before balancing make sure you have the engine tuned up and all bugs removed from the prop. It is a good idea to have the plugs cleaned and gapped, and check the timing. If this was done at the pre buy / annual they you are good to go. Double check to make sure the spinner screws are all the same length.

Dynamic balancing is one of the best and cheapest things you can do to a airplane or helo.

Are you having any vibration issues now?

I balance props for fun and profit. I have a Dynavibe. :D
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The vibration we feel in Amelia is no different than we feel in Atlas, or any other airplane. I was so impressed with Jay Pratt's RV-8's almost turbine-like smoothness, however, that I want to see if I can get anywhere near as nice.

It's also a great excuse to fly to Dallas. :D
 
Jay Honeck said:
The vibration we feel in Amelia is no different than we feel in Atlas, or any other airplane. I was so impressed with Jay Pratt's RV-8's almost turbine-like smoothness, however, that I want to see if I can get anywhere near as nice.

It's also a great excuse to fly to Dallas. :D
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Jay's 8 is one of the standards by which all others are measured. ;)

A good prop balance should get the IPS (inches per second) down to .02 (approx) . Under .05 is not detectable by humans. ;)

Watch the numbers the balancer comes up with. Chances are you will be impressed. :yes:
 
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Hey Jay, I'll be in Port A next week, any chance I can get a peek at Amelia? Wade
 
I'll give you a call at the hotel. We are there Tuesday-Friday. Unfortunately due to whom (wife and daughter) I am traveling with we needed a two room setup so can't stay with you. :-(
 
N2124v said:
I'll give you a call at the hotel. We are there Tuesday-Friday. Unfortunately due to whom (wife and daughter) I am traveling with we needed a two room setup so can't stay with you. :-(
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We have adjoining rooms, for future reference. :D

Just give a call when you're around. I have no idea what my schedule is, except for Wednesday.
 
Skylane81E said:
I do not have the toys, they were school goodies.

Think I could make up the $1500 price tag of the tool?
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Well, I'd like to not have to fly a long ways or go to someone I don't know to get it done. I don't know what the going rate is, but I thought it was a couple hundred bucks. So if that meant $400 to do the 310, that'd get you around 25% of the way there. :)
 
Ted DuPuis said:
Well, I'd like to not have to fly a long ways or go to someone I don't know to get it done. I don't know what the going rate is, but I thought it was a couple hundred bucks. So if that meant $400 to do the 310, that'd get you around 25% of the way there. :)
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Ted, its actually on our short list of things to get soon. Might be able to help you out with that.
 
flyingmoose said:
Ted, its actually on our short list of things to get soon. Might be able to help you out with that.
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Excellent. Let me know when you do get it. I'm not in a rush, so don't prioritize it on my behalf, wanting to do it sometime within the next 50 hours (which should take us through end of the year).
 
How much does this service cost, Jay?
 
alfadog said:
How much does this service cost, Jay?
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I'm not Jay. But from the link he gave in the OP:
Dynamic Propeller Balancing with Engine Vibration Survey:

Experimental: $175*
Single Engine: $225*
Twin Engine:** $425*
* Experimental owners remove and install their upper cowl.
* Certified aircraft may be slightly higher or lower depending on the amount of work required for engine access (top cowl removal) and balance weight installation.
Click to expand...

Oh, nevermind, I didn't notice that there was a page two.
 
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