Definition
A specific location along the length of a propeller or rotor blade, identified by its distance in inches from the center of the hub. Blade stations are used to specify where measurements such as blade angle, chord, thickness, or twist are taken.
Plain English
A numbered point along a blade that tells you exactly how far out from the center of the hub you are. It lets mechanics and engineers describe and measure the blade at the same spot every time.
Context Anchor
Seen in propeller maintenance, propeller inspection instructions, and discussions of blade angle or damage limits.
Derivation
Station here borrows the surveying and engineering sense of a fixed reference point along a measured line. Just as a railway or road has stations marking distance, a blade has stations marking distance from the hub.
Why Pilots Care
Standard blade stations allow precise balancing, damage inspection, and performance calculations without ambiguity.
Analogy
Think of a blade station like a mark on a ruler. If the instruction says to check at the 30-inch mark, everyone should be looking at the same exact place.
Intuition Check
Do not read “station” here as a facility or radio position. Here, it means a fixed measuring point along the propeller blade.
Example Sentence 1
The blade angle is measured at the 30-inch blade station during the propeller inspection.
Example Sentence 2
Propeller data lists pitch settings at blade stations from 12 inches to 72 inches from the hub.