Propeller Bending

Wow, was I wrong (this is the first mistake I have ever made :-).

Propeller bending as shown in the picture below is an artifact that has something to do with the way digital cameras capture images and is not really due to the prop bending. At least not all the bending you see in the photo is real propeller bending.

Thanks Andrew for the education.

Some bending does occur, but not as much as my digital camera indicates, and this is what makes prop edge dings so dangerous. Think about steel wire. With a file make a small score perpendicular to the wire's axis. Start bending the wire. Where the break will occur? At the score. As a kid, I worked on farms, this is how I would cut fence or bailing wire that was too thick to cut with pliers. I used the cutter on a plier to score the surface, not cut it, and bend it back and forth until it broke. Think of a ding then as a stress point that over several bending sessions could lead to a propeller break. AOPA says that if a ding (also called a nick) is less than 1/32" wide or deep it can be deferred to next maintenance. However, I say that if an AP is nearby holding a file in his/her hands - why not ask? :-)

Why I Like to Fly

Final Approach Alpine County (M45)

I like to fly for many reasons. Why? It's fun, it presents scientific and artistic challenges. In some cases flying is practical, but it's mostly fun. There's the great view, the challenges of managing myself and an aircraft to have fun and stay safe all at the same time - they go hand in hand. Since I am a flight instructor, I am guilty as charged for getting paid to fly which arguably adds to the joy of flight. It's a tough life, but someone has to do it.

However, no matter what justifications I use I always come to a root cause for my desire to fly: risk. Risk? You fly because you like to do risky things!? No, I fly because there is risk over which I have a lot of control. It's exactly this same concept that made me want to do blue water sailing in a past life. I crave the challenge of being put into an environment in which I can reduce risk by exercising my knowledge, my skills and my judgment. "Oh, flying isn't for me", you say to yourself; "it's too risky". Do you drive on freeways? You may not like driving as much as I like flying, but being on a freeway means exercising your knowledge, skills and judgment (at least I hope this is true!) to reduce risks and driving on a Bay Area freeway is very much a risky business.

On a final note, being good at risk control means continually getting better at risk control. Risk can never be eliminated, but through diligent effort it can be brought down to acceptable levels and continually reduced. To me the constant learning this implies is frosting on the cake. I love to learn and believe me, there is no such thing as a pilot so good that s/he can't be better. It's a life long endeavor to increase and improve one's knowledge, skills and judgment.

Have fun, stay safe.