Among the most successful early engines marketed in the United States were those designed and built by aviation pioneer and inventor Glenn Curtiss. Early Curtiss engines were designed to power motorcycles. Curtiss’s first direct involvement with propellers likely was assistance to Capt. Thomas S. Baldwin in the improvement of airship propellers. The Burgess Company of Marblehead, Massachusetts later supplied the Curtiss Company with wood propellers beginning in 1910 before the company started its own production in 1916.

After the 1929 merger of the Curtiss and Wright companies, propellers were manufactured by the Curtiss-Wright Propeller Division. Beginning in the mid-1930s electrically actuated propellers were manufactured under the name Curtiss Electric.

This artifact is a Pratt & Whitney R-1830 engine nose case with a shortened four blade Curtiss Electric propeller. The display contains operating controls for use as a training aid at the U.S. Naval Academy. The hub is cutaway, and all controls and components are displayed.

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

Grand Central Airport Co.

Physical Description

Type: Four-Blade, Constant Speed, Variable Pitch, Metal
Diameter: Unknown
Chord: Unknown
Engine Application: Pratt & Whitney R-1830

Dimensions

Overall: 73 x 70 in. (185.4 x 177.8cm)
Approximate: 177.8 x 99.7 x 203.2cm (70 x 39 1/4 x 80 in.)

Materials

HAZMAT: Possible Magnesium
Steel
Aluminum
Wood
Plastic
Phenolic Resin
Rubber
Copper Alloy
Paint
Fabric
Paper
Adhesive
Ink

Inventory Number

A19510045000

Credit Line

Transferred from the United States Naval Academy

Data Source

National Air and Space Museum

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply
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