How to Balance your Propellers.

Learning how to balance a propeller is a simple process and it's worth taking the time to do it; it's easy to think that all props come out the factory perfectly balanced but that's
rarely, if ever, the case! A perfectly balanced propeller will mean less vibration and this is very beneficial - severe vibration can cause weaknesses and propeller failures over time
and affect the sensitive UAV motion control systems and image quality of video footage.

For the short time it takes to correctly balance a prop, the rewards are significant and overall safety is increased. The first thing you need to do is buy a propeller balancing tool;
you could make one if you're practically minded but for a small investment a proper tool is the best solution. The process for correctly balancing your propeller is:

Step 1: Secure the prop to be balanced in to the balancing tool and place it somewhere where the prop can hang freely. Also, it's important that there is no air movement in
the room - even heavy breathing over the prop can give you a false reading!

Let the prop swing freely and let it come to a natural stop. If there is a discrepancy in weight between both blades, the heavier blade will hang lower than the lighter one:

Step 2: once you've determined that there is a difference in weight between blades,
remove the prop from the balancer and remove some weight from the heavier side.

To remove weight from the heavier blade, carefully sand the back side of the blade as
close to the hub (center) as you can. Never remove material from the propeller tip as
this might impede the performance of the prop.

Step 3: keep rechecking the balance after every alteration, you'll more than likely find
that very little weight needs to be removed to sort out the imbalance. When the balance
of the propeller is correct, the prop will hang level with neither one blade or the other
higher or lower.

Remember to balance every propeller on the craft and recheck the balance on a fairly
regular basis; heavy landings with tip strikes can result in small pieces of propeller
chipping off and this will affect the balance!

If a prop gets a chip from a tip strike it must be replaced.

Well balanced propellers fitted to high quality engines - such as AXi, Pulso or the
MK engines will result in smoother and more stable flight - and better quality images
and video.