Have you damaged your DA40 prop during ground handling?

[Chris B]

I've recently been reviewing the logs of several used DA40's. A surprisingly common theme is MT prop damage during ground handling. I've also heard one DA40 owner say that "it is easy to get away from you" and ding the three blade prop with the tow bar. Apparently the freewheeling nose wheel + low ground clearance combination creates problems for the unwary.

I'm curious if this is a widespread issue.

But I especially want to learn best practices for ground handling.

Chris

[Gnomad]

*knocks on wood* after voting no.

[markmed]

Yes... We picked up a rock @ Grand Coulee airport...They have great concrete runways but no sweepe/cleaner. Everything held together over the N. Cascades...about 200mi. worst terrain in America. The tear (2 cracks & bent lead edge) was 2" above the Ti bar. Whoo!

[Chris B]

Well, the results of this poll suggest that either:
A) The owners of most of my prospective aircraft were, well... clumsy.
or,
B) With only 14 votes on this poll, most of the people who did *not* vote are... clumsy.

In any case, I bought a plane with an aluminum Hartzell. So even if (when?) I go into full-on Klutz mode, the prop should escape unscathed!

Chris

[jwx96]

I haven't had my prop (MTV-12-B) damaged during ground handling, but I always rotate it by hand into a position to minimize the chance. I have had the backside dinged and gouged by mechanics decowling for maintenance. The solution was to buy a set of BladeSox which are neoprene covers.

[Boatguy]

I have picked up rocks which dinged my prop, but I assumed that you meant moving the plane with the engine off. Like others, I rotate the prop out of the way before connecting my tug or the tow bar.

[antoinemo]

I thought I would add to this, as our prop is back from blade repair at MT in Florida. We had a crack on the metal leading edge. The plane is operated in a club environment so we're not sure exactly what happened. MT's best guess is indeed ground handling. They say it's the most probable cause for a crack like ours. Pushing and/or pulling on the prop outside of the very root of the blade. Total for the repair was $2,200 + shipping.