Any danger from flying without spinner?

Steve Brown · #1 09-19-2009, 05:47 AM

Long story to short - it would be convenient for me to fly a short distance without my spinner (today).

anyone know of good reasons for not doing that?

Geico266 · #2 09-19-2009, 06:26 AM

There is a lot of air entering the cowling without a spinner. If you have to fly I would do it at low speed.

JMHO

N941WR · #3 09-19-2009, 06:52 AM

If your backing plate has sections riveted to it that fill the gap behind the prop when the spinner is in place, you might want to remove it. Otherwise there is a good chance the centrifugal force will rip those parts right off the backing plate. This happened to the RV-6A two hangars down from me while he was doing a ground run.

Kahuna · #4 09-19-2009, 07:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by N941WR

If your backing plate has sections riveted to it that fill the gap behind the prop when the spinner is in place, you might want to remove it. Otherwise there is a good chance the centrifugal force will rip those parts right off the backing plate. This happened to the RV-6A two hangars down from me while he was doing a ground run.

Centrifical force ripping the backplate assemply apart? Are you kidding?
That backplate came apart for other reasons.
I have hundreds of hours in both my RV's with no spinner and backplate installed. No speed or cooling changes. None.

Id fly it!

Bill Wightman · #5 09-19-2009, 07:23 AM

Kahuna, what can happen is the little aluminum pieces that fill the gap behind the propeller blades can come off - rip off in fact. This is what Bill R was talking about.

Happened to me once and it was at a fairly low speed. I think it was a combination of centrifugal force and air loads building behind the plates. Each plate had 3 AN3 rivets in it and they both tore off exactly at the same time.

Agree, the spinner has no effect on performance (or not much at all).

Kahuna · #6 09-19-2009, 07:38 AM

Ahh. Gap filler peices. OK I get that. I read it the backplate came apart.
I conider the gap fairings part of spinner, not the bacplate.

I have personally flow a dozen RVs with no spinner. Guys do it all the time. Fixed or c/s.
Even with the additional speeds of the Super 8. No problem.

pierre smith · #7 09-19-2009, 07:49 AM

...just safety-wire them together. My Cessna 310 had a spinner unwrap itself on a trip and we flew from Mississippi home with safety wire holding those pieces in.

Regards,

Steve · #8 09-19-2009, 08:06 AM

Quote: "Each plate had 3 AN3 rivets in it and they both tore off exactly at the same time."
My prints say to use 4 AN4 rivets.

breister · #9 09-19-2009, 09:48 AM

There is also another, more insidious danger.

Flying without the spinner will get you ridiculed for flying an ugly airplane. This will occur for many years following the event...

LifeofReiley · #10 09-19-2009, 07:22 PM

Flying without a spinner... no big deal at all. It's been done for years.