When Orville Wright moved to Oakwood, Ohio in 1914, he became acquainted with his neighbor, George Hartzell. George's son, Robert, had a strong interest in aviation and was encouraged by Orville to begin making propellers at his father's walnut wood products business. Robert left the University of Cincinnati in 1917 to begin the propeller venture. The United States had just entered World War I and the war effort created an instant and almost unmanageable demand for Hartzell Walnut Propellers. Hartzell supplied propellers to nearby Dayton-Wright Airplane Company, as well as Glen Curtiss' company and other early aviation pioneers.

This artifact is from the Flying Yacht, a five-seat monoplane produced by the Loening Aeronautical Engineering Corporation, with a single inverted Liberty engine and Hartzell propeller, which established world records and opened up the first significant market for private aircraft. For this achievement Grover C. Loening received the Collier Trophy in 1921.