individual. To the educated, an aircraft propeller represents the highest sophistication in

aerodynamics, mechanical engineering and structural design. This report will touch on the history of

the propeller, from early pioneers/experiments, advancement during/after the war, all the way up to

current applications of the propeller. The creation of the propeller can be traced back to Leonardo

da Vinci. Da Vinci’s “helical screw” helicopter is believed to be the ancestor of the air propeller and

the helicopter rotor. The first idea of a propulsive airscrew, however, belongs to J.P. Paucton, a

French mathematician. Paucton envisioned a flying machine that had two airscrews, one for

propulsion and the other for sustaining flight. The idea of using an airscrew for propulsion was

utilized during the late 1700’s to early 1800’s. Only after experimentation did the inventors conclude

that more propulsive power could be obtained by merely straightening out the surface of the

airscrew blades. Attempts to utilize the “straight blade” propeller were made by balloonists. These

experiments of da Vinci, the wooden props of the Wright brothers, the design of the variable pitch

produce maximum thrust under certain conditions, an early recognition of the need for changing

shaped airships by experimenting with sails, propellers, and paddlewheels but all produced limited

Wright brother’s propeller was 66% efficient which was much higher that any other propeller of the

Some topics in this essay:
Turnbull Turnbull, American Pine, Hamilton Standard, Paucton French, Lucien Chauviere, History Propeller, Hiram Maxim, Chalais-Meudon Villacoublay, Thomas Moy, Da Vinci’s, metal propeller, adjustable propeller, wright brothers, pitch propeller, ground adjustable, da vinci, history propeller, hamilton standard, variable pitch, ground adjustable propeller, applications propeller, variable pitch blades, airship “la france”,