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Are You Unconsciously Reducing Your Helicopter's Efficiency and Shortening the Life of Your Blades?

Posted on: 11/12/2020

Blade Cleaning and Maintenance..?
We have noticed that many of our customers do not take care of their main rotor blades...
When inspecting the blades, our first task is usually to clean them....?‍♂

  
The efficiency of the main rotor blade is reduced several times if we allow dirt,
sticky insects, pollen, grass, etc. to accumulate mainly on their leading edges.
On the Robinson R44, this type of contamination can take away up to 5 horsepower or about 7 knots of air speed.

Erosion of the paint on the leading edge of the main rotor blade can have the same effect if the edge is not properly protected!!
Cleaning, waxing or protecting the blades with an anti-corrosion agent has a very positive effect on their efficiency.
On the Robinson R22, dirty blades can take away as much as 1.5 inches from the manifold pressure gauge.
Keeping the blades clean is an easy and simple way to restore the efficiency of the helicopter.

belly soap

Washing and maintaining blades also has a very positive effect on corrosion damage.
A rotating blade collides with small particles in the air, which erode the paint on the lower blade casing.
Microscopic holes are then created on the paint surface, exposing small areas of the aluminum coating
subject to the adverse effects of nature.
This causes corrosion that causes serious damage, so waxing the blades is recommended to prevent this.
Thanks to this treatment, the wax will fill in the blemishes and also prevent corrosion.

Flights performed in saltwater areas are ideal conditions for the development of corrosion, so remember to clean the main and tail rotor blades after the last flight of the day.
 
For washing, it is best to use warm water with soap or specialist aviation preparations designed for this purpose, such as Belly Soap by Aero Cosmetics. It is also worth using anti-corrosion agents such as ACF-50.

acf-50 łopaty
 
Never use anything other than hand force to wash blades.
It is also important to remember that the line where the blade skin joins the spar should never be exposed.
The line where the joint is joined must be painted in such a way that it properly protects the joining material.
The aircraft paint / epoxy coating "propeller" from TEMPO is ideal for this purpose, its task is to provide additional adhesion and abrasion resistance needed to protect the propellers from corrosion and use.

Posted in: Helimot

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