Stranger in a strange land

After a few touch and goes, I was checking the plane over before I put it away, only to find a nasty looking nick in one of the blades of the propeller.

I spoke to the nice people at IVO, who make the propeller, and the fix sounded relatively simple. Just for information, a new blade would have to match the balance numbers on the old blade, and would run about $140.

First of all, I pulled off the stainless steel prop tape to see what I was dealing with. This stuff is terrifyingly sharp, so be careful. I used a pair of pliers, and ended up taking it off in little pieces. There was much blood spilled, but if I haven't bled on something while working on it, it's not really mine.

I started off by dropping some superglue into the fibres that I could see in the hole - this bonds them back together, helping the blade hold it's structural integrity.

I then used 2 part polyester resin (it's the fibreglass gelcoat that you can buy in an auto parts store) to start building up the missing bit.

Sanded the resin smooth, to follow the lines of the original leading edge. This'll probably take a few tries - don't rush it.

I then used the instructions on the IVO website on replacing the prop tape. Basically, clean the prop with Methyl Ethyl Ketone (wearing gloves - this is nasty stuff) and stick the new tape on. I started off by putting a slight fold in the tape so it would sit where I wanted it to on the leading edge - then I pushed down the flat side of the prop with my fingers, then used a piece of PVC pipe to push it all down properly. I then rolled the tape over the leading edge and repeating the process on the other side.

They've slightly changed the shape of the prop tape since my prop was made, so I ended up retaping all three blades, but I bought a spare tape meaning that this'll never happen again :o)