Wright brothers propeller, fixed-pitch, 1903 Wright Flyer
date: label: Date
content: 1903
name: label: Manufacturer
content: Wright Brothers, Dayton, Ohio
notes: label: Physical Description
content: Type: Two-Blade, Fixed-Pitch, Wood
label: Physical Description
content: Diameter: 259.1 cm (102 in.)
label: Physical Description
content: Chord: 19.2 cm (7.6 in.)
label: Physical Description
content: Engine Application: Four-Cylinder, Horizontal Inline, Water-Cooled, 9 kw (12 hp)
label: Summary
content: The Wright brothers designed and constructed the world's first practical fixed-pitch propeller and developed the aerodynamic theory to calculate its performance during the process of creating their historic 1903 Flyer. Conceptualizing the propeller as a rotating, twisted wing moving in a helical path, the brothers used airfoil data obtained from their wind tunnel to design blades able to convert power from their small engine into thrust.
label: Summary
content: Believing that "the propeller should in every case be designed to meet the particular conditions of the machine to which it is applied," the Wrights designed their propellers (they used two on the airplane) for one specific performance regime. Using a drawknife and hatchets, they shaped the propellers from two laminated pieces of spruce, covered the tips with linen, and sealed them with aluminum powder suspended in varnish. Overall, these two propellers produced 66 percent efficiency, enough to get off the ground at Kitty Hawk.
label: Summary
content: This original propeller was used on the 1903 Wright Flyer on December 17, 1903, during its first flight.
place: label: Country of Origin
content: United States of America
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Air and Space Museum Collection
label: Location
content: National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC
label: Exhibition
content: Wright Brothers & The Invention of the Aerial Age
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Harold & Ivonette Miller and others
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Air and Space Museum
identifier: label: Inventory Number
content: A19830381000
objectType: label: Type
content: PROPULSION-Propellers & Impellers
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Materials
content: Kiln-dried spruce in two pieces
label: Materials
content: Silver coating
label: Dimensions
content: Rotor/Propeller: 259.1 x 19.2 x 8.9cm (102 x 7 9/16 x 3 1/2 in.)