An early predominant manufacturer in the United States, Spencer Heath's American Propeller and Manufacturing Company opened in Baltimore in 1909. Heath was first to use machines for mass production of aircraft propellers and, under the Paragon trademark, these were widely used in World War I. Like most propellers of that era, construction was a wood laminate because of light weight, strength, fabrication ease, and resistance to fatigue in a vibrating and flexing environment.

Heath demonstrated the first "engine-powered, engine-controlled, variable and reversible pitch propeller" in 1919, but was unsuccessful in convincing the Army of the practicality of the concept. He sold the company to the Bendix Corporation in 1929 and retired from aeronautics two years later.

This artifact is identical to tractor propellers built in 1919 for the US Navy's NC-4, the first aircraft to cross the North Atlantic, which is on display at the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, FL.

 Display Status

This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.
Object Details
Country of Origin United States of America Type PROPULSION-Propellers & Impellers Manufacturer American Propeller and Manufacturing Company
 Physical Description Type: Two-Blade, Fixed-Pitch, Wood Diameter: 304.8 cm (120 in.) Chord: 28.6 cm (11.25 in.) Engine Application: Liberty 298 kw (400 hp), water-cooled, V-12 Dimensions Rotor/Propeller: 304.8 x 28.6 x 26.7 x 18.4cm (10 x 11 1/4 x 10 1/2 x 7 1/4 in.)
3-D: 304.8 x 26.7 x 27.3cm (10 x 10 1/2 x 10 3/4 in.)
 Materials Wood
Varnish
Steel
Copper Alloy
 Inventory Number A19300034000 Credit Line Gift of American Propeller & Manufacturing Co. Data Source National Air and Space Museum Restrictions & Rights Usage conditions apply
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