Propeller Balancing – What’s the big deal?

Regardless of what you fly, the reality is that aircraft ownership is an expensive endeavour. So when your maintenance shop suggests performing a dynamic propeller balance, you might be wondering what you’ll get out of your investment. The key benefit is that when your propeller is dynamically balanced, you’ll experience less vibration during flight.

But how does that benefit you?

Right away, you’ll notice less cabin noise and feel less vibration during flight, which will make longer flights less fatiguing for you and your passengers. Instrumentation and portable devices such as tablets will be easier to read and cause less eyestrain when they aren’t vibrating so much. While it’s especially helpful you’re relying on your instruments to get where you’re going in IMC conditions, VFR pilots can also appreciate having to squint less when trying to read fine print or make out what your instruments are trying to tell you.

Not only will you and your passengers benefit from this reduced vibration, but your aircraft – and by extension, your maintenance bill – will enjoy several benefits as well.

While a complete list of aircraft specific benefits is above and beyond the scope of this blog, a few common issues you’ll experience less often will be cracking in items like cowlings and baffles. Engine mount isolators, sensitive engine components and instrumentation tends to last longer and need replacement less often when the amount of vibration they’re exposed to is reduced.

There are also several indirect benefits to performing a prop balance as a preventative maintenance measure. For instance, if a lot of weight needs to be added to bring it into balance or if the frequency of the vibration doesn’t line up with the propeller RPM it can point to there being another source of vibration in the aircraft.  Worn isolation mounts, an out of balance alternator, an engine component beginning to fail, or an exhaust stack hitting the engine mount or cowling can be other sources of vibration which can be more easily detected during the procedure.

Finally, the equipment needed to perform dynamic prop balancing has gone down in cost significantly over the last few decades, which means prop balancing has become more affordable to the average GA owner that it had been in the past.

Taking into account the benefits in comfort, its potential as a preventative maintenance measure and the reduced cost of the procedure itself, it is an investment which will pay for itself. If you’re curious as to how a dynamic prop balance will benefit your specific aircraft, please don’t hesitate to contact us and our mechanics will be more than happy to discuss it with you.

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Author Profile: Mitch Callaghan graduated from Canadore College in 1997 as an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer. He came to Brant Aero while doing a co-op placement in high school and has been working for Brant Aero since graduating and is now the Turbine Maintenance Manager. He is also a Transport Canada Minister’s Delegate.