propeller positions

[tigercat2]

For three bladed prop aircraft, do you place the propellers in a "Y", inverted Y or a random position?  For four bladed aircraft, an"X", a "+"  or random?  

For some reason, I do not think three bladed props in a "Y" look that great, so I avoid this position, usually put them at random.  Four bladed props, such as on a B-26 Maurader, look best in an "X", I believe, but that's just me.


Wes W.

[dragon]

If I remember correctly, a friend told me that the position of the propeller tells the ground crew (manily the fuel guys) what has to be done.  a "Y" sort of resembles a martini glass that needs to be filled, that is, the airplane needs fuel.  The inverted Y means the plane is fueled.  For display purposes I prefer the inverted "Y" and the "X". B)  

[tigercat2]

The "martini glass" concept sounds reasonable - what about with 4 bladed props - is there a meaning to the "X" or "+" positions?


Wes W.

[Allan]

Fellows,
Here's my own sneaky tip.
If my plane has one wing slightly lower than the other, by that I mean the two wings are not neatly aligned and one is definitely but slightly lower than the other I position one of the propellor blades almost vertically but slightly to the side of the wing that is lower.
That way when you pick the plane up you unconsciously try to align the propellor blade vertically and tend to ignore the lower wing.
At least that's how it seems to me, but maybe it's all in my tiny mind.
Allan in Canberra

[Eddie M.]

The "martini glass" concept sounds reasonable - what about with 4 bladed props - is there a meaning to the "X" or "+" positions?


Wes W.

I don't know if there's any truth to this, but I've seen E-2s and C-2s have their props put in the + to have the blade block the inlet for FOD protect. Probably BS, but it sounded good to me when the sqdn guy said it. He probably went back down to his shack and had a good laugh at my expense.  
   Eddie
   

[dragon]

Fellows,
Here's my own sneaky tip.
If my plane has one wing slightly lower than the other, by that I mean the two wings are not neatly aligned and one is definitely but slightly lower than the other I position one of the propellor blades almost vertically but slightly to the side of the wing that is lower.
That way when you pick the plane up you unconsciously try to align the propellor blade vertically and tend to ignore the lower wing.
At least that's how it seems to me, but maybe it's all in my tiny mind.
Allan in Canberra

Good hint.  Must try it the next time I am in an IPMS USA competition.  

[The Rat]

Spent a few years as a Ramp Rat, and I can honestly say that I haven't heard the 'martini glass' bit. The way we used to do it was this - twin-blades were always placed vertically for two reasons, it means that only one bird can 'sit and poo-poo' on it, rather than a bunch of them holding a union meeting side by side and fouling the entire length of it, and it means that when you're walking and working around the aircraft you don't accidentally walk into one of the blades. Try it sometime, they don't have to be turning to hurt!

Three-bladed props were arranged as an upside-down Y, again for safety. If you do walk into a blade you would rather take a sore shin than a gash on the head or face.

Four-bladed? Not too many of those around a small airport, but I would place them in the X position, again, to narrow the area in which you could impact a blade.

NOTE: Before positioning a blade ensure that there is nobody in the aircraft, chocks are in place, and the master switch is OFF!    

[Captain Canada]

only one bird can 'sit and poo-poo' on it, rather than a bunch of them holding a union meeting side by side and fouling the entire length of it

Good looking and funny....geez, too bad you're married !

And don't you mean 'fowling'



And it's any which way but loose for my props.

[elmayerle]

I think either spelling, fouling or fowling, would work, though the first seems the more accurate usage.

[NARSES2]

I tend to display mine with slightly offset Y & X


And my two pennyworth on the spelling - fouling is what they do first ie "muck the prop up" and fowling is what you do to the buggers afterwards - shoot them  

The surname Fowler refers to someone who's family in the distant past were water bird hunters

Chris

[Gary]

Rat San is good looking, funny and right. I can confirm the twin and 3 bladed props, the 4 bladed ones we always set at + if the hub was above the average head. No smashy facey in a rather sharpy thingy. (I know, keep the tech talk to a minimum) One exception to all props was if the plane had a prop lock or a glove/lanyard. The lock, not popular, is a rod that slips into a hole in the shaft to keep the blade from windmilliing and possibly damaging the engine. I say not popular cause I only encounted one on a French amphibian thing. The Glove/Lanyard does the same thing, but it is a sleve that slides over the tip of the blade and the lanyard ties back to a point or two on the airframe. The red cloth and straps are supposed to let you see them. Every bird is different so if you are going for supreme accuracy you'll need to research.

[Tophe]

For three bladed prop aircraft, do you place the propellers in a "Y", inverted Y or a random position?  For four bladed aircraft, an"X", a "+"  or random?

As far (or as crazy) as I am concerned , I remove the blades most often. When I let them, this is for a model without undercarriage, and the blades would be too fragile pointing to the ground, so that's inverted Y and X - but if you are more serious (yes seriousness is possible what-ifing...), do it in some technical way, related to use and crew, you are very right.

[BlackOps]

Seriously? I like to spin mine so it doesn't matter, whenever I walk by a prop I spin it so they tend to point wherever they stop  


Jeff G.

[John Howling Mouse]

The last time I was on a Jetstream, I noticed the pilots always hand-rotated the prop after engine shut-down to a random angle.

I couldn't resist asking why.  The pilot informed me it was to avoid letting the shaft cool within its bearing in the last position into which it had come to rest after the flight.  Something about dissipating the heat more evenly.

My model props are loose whenever I can manage it.

That way, I can blow on them as I fly them throughout the house making engine noises.  Really!

[BlackOps]

OK, did anyone else as a kid hold their model airplanes out the car window so the props would spin? I lost a prop that way once...blew right off  



Jeff G.