[no4mkit]

Here's some instruction as requested by chiefs70. The sample prop is the Gemini Aces Spitfire, but I'd expect the anatomy of their P-51 and Bf109F props are very similar. This will be useful to those looking to repair a broken prop or simply to flip the propeller over so the leading edge is not the trailing edge as some have observed on the Spitfire model.

Note: Read all of the instructions thoroughly before you attempt this, and if you're not sure you can pull it off, don't try!

1. Using an exacto knife or other hobby blade, pry the propeller assembly away from the fuselage. You may want to apply a layer of thin tape (cellophane) around the blade to keep from marring the paint finish. Use moderate pressure and apply it in several locations, working your way around the prop shaft until the prop assembly comes free.



2. Set the propeller assembly on a flat surface and hold in place using downward pressure on the tip of the spinner. Use your hobby blade to separate the spinner from the back plate. Again, use only moderate pressure and work each gap between blades until the spinner and plate begin to separate. The reason I recommend removing the prop assembly first is, if you attempted this while the prop is still on the shaft it's likely going to spin and you'll shove the blade through a finger!



3. Once you separate the spinner from it's back plate, you'll have the following parts:

spinner back plate, propeller, retaining ring, and spinner. Note the four pins on the back plate. These fit into holes in the spinner to help orient the parts correctly during assembly.



4. If your fixing a broken prop blade, you can now lay it flat for gluing, and if your just flipping the propeller over your ready for reassembly.

5. Place the back plate on the prop shaft (seen below) with pins facing away from the fuselage. NO glue!



6. place the prop on the shaft making sure the leading edge is oriented correctly.

7. Glue the retaining ring to the narrow part of the shaft. I recommend white glue or something relatively easy to break if you need to do this again.

8. Apply the same glue to the four pins on the back plate and attach the spinner, making sure the prop is correctly located in the recesses in the spinner.

Well done - you did it!!

[hworth18]

Thanks for posting this No.4!!
Its good to know how to do this if I ever do break one, but I have been lucky so far and just bent a blade..

[chiefs70]

Well done and thanks, No4mkit.

[STARMAN 352ND]

Thanks for the tip on that No4.......You learn something new all the time
on The Model Hangar Forum.
JP

[mikeb1958]

Great job no4! Will this also work for a BF-109F? I got a loose spinner on the Galland 109 that arrived 2 weeks ago. Came with a bent blade as if it had done a belly landing into the box. I slowly bent it back into place but also had the propeller loose behind the spinner.

[no4mkit]

Glad to help, guys!

Haven't tried the '109 mikeb, but I expect the process would be the same. Let us know if you give it a go.

[mikeb1958]

Thank you for the info! Great pics and step-by-step process! A++++

[bsmith13]

I tried this procedure this evening, and have the following observations to make:

1. As no4mkit says, wrap your hobby knife in tape, and be very careful during this process. I nicked the propeller a few times. Nothing a little paint won't fix.
2. The Spitfire propeller will only fit on to the back plate correctly if it is backwards. If you try to install it so that it looks correct, the part of the propellers closest to the hub won't seat into the back plate the way it should, and the spinner will fit more loosely than it did before. I am trying to decide if I want to file the propeller hub down or not. If anyone has suggestions, I'd appreciate them.

[no4mkit]

hmmm... interesting find, bsmith. I wonder if that's why GA is installing them that way?

[bsmith13]

After examining all of the parts carefully, I've come to the conclusion that this is an engineering production error, not an installation error.

If the propeller is installed so that the propeller faces backwards, the propeller seats properly in the baseplate, and the nylon retension bearing snugs up against the flat face of the propeller hub.

If the propeller is installed so that the propeller faces forward, none of this happens.

My solution was to make a couple of gaskets out of sheet styrene, and layer them in front of the propeller hub until the nylon bearing could be secured close enough to them to make the baseplate fit securely against the fuselage.