This and other Gee Bee photos, way back when I was a kid, confused me about what I THOUGHT I KNEW about propellers
Sorry to drag up this old thread
But I am trying to re-educate myself all about propellers now that I have many different 2 and 3 bladed props to play with for all the various .20 /.25 /.36 / 40/ .46 / .52 I am going to use on a few bucket list models
Way back as a kid... there was a nut case slightly older than me, who proved to all of us unbelievers, that a brick could fly with a big enough motor.... then came a lot of real stupid experiments making all sorts of crap zoom around in a semi controlled flight circular path ( My belief being centripetal force was more at play than any true aerodynamics)
Just for discussion ...as a kid I got the idea from the Gee Bee that ONLY the props TIPS did ANY work
Side note.. The only man carrying aircraft I ever owned, was a Rally 2 B Sport Ultra Light with a Rotec pusher engine & unknown prop ----and I don't remember a darned thing about the prop except TBO...actually Time Before Replacement (TBR)
And now it occurs to me that I really should be keeping a log book on every plane, engine, and prop like I did with the, sort of real, airplane
Thus the question... is there really a "time", AND "in use", TBO for model propellers?
I see MAS has some Finite life and "in use" notes within ALL of the "these products will Kill you" cautions
For example--- IN MAS states that we must use (the product) within 3 years of purchase and discard after.....(very subjective as I have no idea HOW long it sat on the shelf)
They also state that the Max service life is 500 hours... BUT how can I get 500 hours of service (for my $12 product) if I put it in service on the 34th month after production... hummmmmm?... Of course there is NO BORN ON DATE OF ANY Prop I ever bought....
OK OK, I am being deliberately obtuse.... I like to think the WC and NATs champs have a readily source for new, precise, and current perfect props.
BUT I do get the impression many of the champs also cannot source great props and have to fiddle lot within the High zoot versions
For my sport use, $3 to $15 props...I just see if they are close to balanced, trim some flash (if needed), and fly it until I break it...
I have wood props, in use, manufactured in the 60s..... That said, I dd put all the OLD TF Nylon props into the Wing Fillet bag
Thoughts, pinions