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I found this blade and its mate under a house on Avenue B on Barksdale AFB in Shreveport Lousiana in the summer of 1968. The hub had been sawn off and I never found it, but was led to believe it was a prop from a PT-19 trainer from the mid-30s because they were very common at that particular field at one time. I never looked into it until just now but this doesn't look anything like a prop from that model plane from any year I can find.
The blades are about 32 inches long and 8 and a half inches wide at the strongest point. There's a lot of pitch, and the blade has an asymmetrical airfoil through most of its length. I suspect that the hub had a considerable amount of blade left to it when they cut these tips off. There are no identifying marks, but the metalwork is distinctive, reminiscent of that I've seen on cars of the late teens and early 20s, and the wood is very old mahogany.
The blades were painted black when I found them and after very careful examination I find no trace of another color, so it was previously stripped and spray-painted black These blades are laminated from 7 pieces..
My knowledge of prop-making and props in general is limited to those for Radio-Controlled helicopter blades and pitch/length sizes for the more popular airplane models, so though these has been in my possession now for more than 40 years I know nothing about them. I also don't hold any illusion that they might have been actually ever used in the air, though I suppose it's possible. I just want to see if anyone here has seen this kind of scalloped metalwork on old props before, and find out what company might have made it for what kind of craft.
See the uploaded pictures for a better look than I an describe. Any input would be appreciated. I plan on carving a hub and seeing about a little retrofit. I didn't carry these around the world for 40 years for nothing!
The blades are about 32 inches long and 8 and a half inches wide at the strongest point. There's a lot of pitch, and the blade has an asymmetrical airfoil through most of its length. I suspect that the hub had a considerable amount of blade left to it when they cut these tips off. There are no identifying marks, but the metalwork is distinctive, reminiscent of that I've seen on cars of the late teens and early 20s, and the wood is very old mahogany.
The blades were painted black when I found them and after very careful examination I find no trace of another color, so it was previously stripped and spray-painted black These blades are laminated from 7 pieces..
My knowledge of prop-making and props in general is limited to those for Radio-Controlled helicopter blades and pitch/length sizes for the more popular airplane models, so though these has been in my possession now for more than 40 years I know nothing about them. I also don't hold any illusion that they might have been actually ever used in the air, though I suppose it's possible. I just want to see if anyone here has seen this kind of scalloped metalwork on old props before, and find out what company might have made it for what kind of craft.
See the uploaded pictures for a better look than I an describe. Any input would be appreciated. I plan on carving a hub and seeing about a little retrofit. I didn't carry these around the world for 40 years for nothing!
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