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How to Make an RC Airplane Variable Pitch Propeller

Like their real-world counterparts, variable pitch propellers for radio controlled (RC) aircraft adjust the blade pitch for various flying conditions. Real-world aircraft that have variable pitch propellers use them to help with thrust, lift and roll. Building a variable pitch RC propeller requires balancing the blades once attached into the nose-hub. This requires special tools made exclusively for model aircraft construction. Before you build a variable pitch propeller, be sure your aircraft needs one as the majority of RC crafts do not use variable pitch props.

Things You'll Need

Prop nose cone
Drill press
Prop reamer tool
Multibolt hub
Blades
Prop balancer

Instructions

- 1
  Cross-reference your engine size to the required propeller size for your aircraft by consulting a chart designed for these purposes. These can be found online or via hobby shop which sells RC planes. Select a blade size for the propeller based on your cross-reference results. Using a prop that is too big results in a nose-heavy aircraft, whereas using a prop that is too small makes the plane unable to achieve lift.
- 2
  Decrease the length of the propeller blades if you fly a three or four blade prop. For example, a standard two-blade prop is represented at X length. For three blade props, use the formula X minus 1-inch. If X is 20, use a 19-inch set of propeller blades.
- 3
  Drill out the nosecone from the wide side to accommodate the engine drive shaft coming out of the airplane's nose. This varies according to the aircraft size. If you do not know the needed diameter of the hole, use a set of calipers to measure the diameter of the driveshaft.
- 4
  Glue the multibolt hub to the inside of the nosecone, so the holes along the sides align with the holes on the nosecone.
- 5
  Push the nosecone and hub onto the propeller blade balancing tool. Attach the blades into the holes on the cone-hub edges.
- 6
  Turn the blades and spin until the propeller spins equally and even on the balancer. To use the variable prop adjustment, turn each blade by half-turns to get a different blade angle for use on the aircraft.
- 7
  Glue the blades into the hub. Remove the nosecone and propeller combination and place it onto the aircraft driveshaft at the nose of the fuselage.

Aviation