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I've heard a few people say that flying in the rain can damage the prop on a small aircraft. Until recently, I thought they were only talking about the old wood props, and I admit that since the lions share of my flying has been done in the desert southwest, I never gave it much thought. Since moving to the Midwest however, I've heard a few old timers say they can tell when a metal prop has been "flown through the rain" by feeling the leading edge of the prop. I asked one of them if they were referring to damage to a protective tape on the leading edge, and he said no, it damages the prop itself. Anyone else ever heard of this? I'm asking more out of curiosity than anything, I don't usually fly in the rain, but every now and then might fly through a shower or two VFR under a stratus layer. |
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It seems like this primarily a concern for wood props, here's a link from Light Speed Engineering regarding propeller care:
Jabiru's Propeller service manual also recommends not running the aircraft in rain, although it does tip its wooden props in a coating to allow for rain protection. It seems possible that if you run a steel prop in rain enough times there could be damage, but if you only do it incidentally it seems like you'll be okay. I've flown with instructors a few times in light rain and none seem to be too concerned about the prop. What you can do is call the propeller manufacturer for your aircraft and see what they say about running their props in rain. It would be pretty interesting what they have to say about the issue! |
Hey Jeff, I hope you don't mind, but I edited the title of your question slightly to add the detail about damaging the propeller. Feel free to re-edit it. BTW its an awesome question!