Common Signs Your Prop Needs Balancing

Aircraft vibration is more than just annoying.  Left untreated it has the potential to damage all parts of the aircraft:  engine, airframe and instruments. The reality is that piston engines vibrate, but when there is vibration, most of the time it is the result of propeller assembly imbalance and not from combustion. Here are common signs that your airplane is suffering from vibration that could easily be resolved by dynamically balancing your propeller:

•     Your arms, legs or feet get numb during a cross-country
•     Your compass “jiggles” or won’t settle down
•     Instrument needles vibrate
•     Avionics randomly fail
•     There is an RPM range that is “rough”
•     You experience a “shiver” in your airplane as you reduce rpm prior to landing
•     Rivets loosen
•     Fatigue cracks appear or existing ones grow
•     Visors shake

Even the slightest misalignment of any part of the rotating assembly, such as the spinner, propeller, prop mounting hardware, starter ring, crank or any other rotating component can cause damaging vibration. There are many potential sources of vibration, which you can read about on our “Why Balance” web page.

Left unchecked, vibration has some nasty side effects, like producing fatigue that reduces the longevity of the airframe and avionics that are continually stressed and fail prematurely. Fortunately, the solution is easy: dynamic propeller balancing using the DynaVibe Classic or DynaVibe GX2. The prop balancing process with DynaVibe is simple, as this short video explains.

The difference dynamic prop balancing makes is often dramatic. Many pilots feel like they’re flying an entirely different aircraft, as these testimonials share. To learn more about dynamic propeller balancing, visit the RPX Technologies website or contact us by email:  [email protected].