The Art of Propeller Manufacturing

[dbahn]

I was recently asked to display some of my collection of WW1 era propellers at a local art show (Waitsfield, VT) with a theme of "Aloft" - mostly birds, butterflies, photography, paintings and anything aerial. I did this once before in another location, and we found that the pilots gave the exhibit a glance or two, but the artists tended to stand back, then move around, draw things in the air with their fingers and generally appreciate the form itself. The display has been well received by artists at this venue as well.

All of the props in the display were produced over 100 years ago, the top one was made by Requa Gibson before they went bankrupt in 1912, just nine years after the Wright's first flight. (I kept the most valuable part of the collection at home, including an original hand carved, chain driven Wright style from the early 1900s. See note below.)





For anyone interested, I've created web pages for many of the props that I've owned over the years but have gradually thinned down to about 20 of the really rare ones, e.g Bleriot XI, Sopwith Camel, SPAD VII and many others.

 

[Sam D]

Thanks for sharing. Those are cool!

 

[Half Fast]

Very cool! Props to you, sir!

 

[WDD]

Boggles the mind that a level of craftsmanship existed that was sharp enough to make these by hand with what they had back then.

 

[dbahn]

Yeah, and some of the earliest props had this curved shape based on the Wright's theory that the blades should act like two wings spiraling around a central axis. That shape, and many other concepts, were quickly abandoned in the 1920s and 1930s as blades took the symettrical, balanced and tapered width styles that persist today. But many historians credit the Wrights for actually inventing the aircraft propeller, refining the airscrew designed suggested by Leonardo daVinci in the 1400s.

 

[NordicDave]

The 2 blade MT composite prop has an aggressive twist compared to aluminum.





There's no part of the blades which are flat.

 

[WDD]

The efficiency of the Wright’s propellers was leaps and bounds beyond what was then being used, and from what I’ve read isn’t that far off from what we have today. Their insight that a propeller is actually a type of wing was revolutionary.

 

[Dana]

Beautiful collection!

I always liked the scimitar shape of the Jenny and similar props. I was thinking of making such a prop for my Hatz. The idea is that the shape makes the prop twist slightly under load, flattening the pitch at low airspeed almost like a constant speed prop. Bernie Warneke and Lonnie Prince claimed a similar principle, though their scimitar shape isn't nearly as dramatic.

 

[Oldmanb777]

Wonderful collection. Thanks.

 

[dbahn]

I also like the scimitar props, but probably my favorite of the collection is this rare Bleriot X1 prop for a 25 HP Anzani engine, circa 1910, in original condition having evidence of being previously flown.



(Link to page.)




.