Calculate Your Propeller’s Tip Speed

An example by Andy Lennon shows how to calculate the speed of a model’s prop at the tips of its blades. If we assume a 10-inch diameter prop, then the circumference the prop tip circumscribes in a single revolution is: 10 inches (the diameter) times 3.1416 (pi) = 31.4 inches. If that prop is spinning at 10,000 rpm, the tip travels a distance of 314,000 inches in 1 minute. Dividing that number by 12 shows...