Can dynamic propeller balancing extend the life of my propeller by reducing harmful stress?
Dynamic balancing the propeller has little effect on propeller stress and therefore propeller service life. The little balance weights added to the spinner backplate don’t change the bending stresses created as the blades pull the aircraft thru the air; neither do the weights change the centrifugal forces created by the whirling mass. Dynamic balancing places the propeller’s mass center at the axis of rotation so that inertia forces aren’t created by accelerating the mass. For example, a one ounce imbalance 2 inches from the rotation axis causing a force of 21 lbs. But a Sensenich fixed pitch propeller on a small aircraft, such as the Piper Pacer, generates 13 tons of centrifugal stress per blade at its rated rpm of 2600. Vibrations caused by imbalance stress the propeller attachment and everything downstream including the passengers, but not the blades. The type of stress that damages propellers is vibratory stress induced on the blade by the engine’s power pulses. Piston engines prod
