Let's talk squawk!

Some nicks can be filed away (on metal props) or otherwise repaired, but there are rules about what is and isn’t repairable.

If the nick/ding/crack is not repairable then yes, you toss the prop and get a new one.

I’ve had friends lose a prop, or part of one, in flight. The ones that survived the experience universally have said they’d much rather have almost anything else happen, short of a fire, than have a repeat. (Yes, I do know someone who once set his airplane on fire while in flight. He says that was his very, very last cigarette.)

Pay a mechanic $$$$ to file it off for you.

Serious or joke? - I can’t tell :wink:

A joke, but only because he left off one of the dollar signs.

Technically, the filing of small nicks may be preventative maintenance, which a pilot can do, but that pilot must make an entry in the propeller logbook. 14 CFR 43 Appendix A doesn’t specifically mention it as preventative maintenance, but it does say that “repairs to deep dents, cuts, scars, nicks, etc., and straightening of aluminum blades” are major repairs. It’s a bit of a grey area - what qualifies a nick as deep? I’d probably have an A&P sign it off to be safe. The landing light you can definitely do, but again, you have to sign it off.

Pretty much any modification to an airplane the FAA considers a “real” airplane (“Certificated” is the term) MUST be done by either a licensed mechanic or a licensed “Repair Facility”.
Neither is cheap.

If you build your own plane (many do), you are eligible to get (upon application - it is NOT automatic) a"Repairman’s Certificate" for that plane and no other.
A Repairman’s Certificate is NOT transferable - if you sell your homebuilt, the new owner will need to have it inspected and repaired by the same folks who do certificated - and many of them will not touch a homebuilt due to, you got it, liability questions. Their liability insurance is high enough without signing off that a plane is safe - and then discovering the builder forgot a bolt or left a wood joint unglued.

An owner of a certified aircraft who is a pilot may perform preventative maintenance. The list defining preventative maintenance is specific, but surprisingly long:

Item 30 covers usedtobe’s above post.

p.s. - I have never held a pilot’s license.

I also replaced the interior upholstery.

If I had a license, the landing light would have been legal. No way touching the prop was.

Last I looked, the plane made it from CA to TN - so somebody has a good story to tell about an AA1-A as a cross-country plane.