effects of rain on props

[BrendAn]

another question for the group.

the other day i looked at a bolly prop with quite a bit of wear on the leading edge protection strip from rain .

its on an ultralight so it has not been through a lot of rain, it got me thinking how do commercial aircraft which fly

through rain a lot protect the props. do they have replaceable leading edge protection or something. 

this question is only out of curiosity. 

[Thruster88]

Propellers on GA aircraft are nearly always made of metal so no problem. Rain will strip paint from the leading edge fairly quickly.  

[facthunter]

At a speed of 400MPH an alloy prop will experience erosion from rain. That is the blade speed through the air, so the tips are affected first. The Lockheed Electra Prop Blades were made of steel. They experienced a lot of cracking and shutdowns due vibration detected.. You wouldn't want it to chuck a blade. Nev

Edited May 25, 2023 by facthunter