Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer

In 1909 the Requa Gibson Company of New York City, led by Hugh C. Gibson, became the first American propeller manufacturer. The company began by crafting copies of French Chauviére propellers, but later pioneered distinctively American designs by E.W. Bonson. However, the success of this pioneer propeller manufacturer was short-lived, as the company went bankrupt in June 1911.

This artifact is from a collection of propellers used by Professor David L. Gallup in 1911 experiments conducted at the Alden Hydraulic Laboratory of the Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts.

The Gallup whirling arm experiments were one of the first comprehensive attempts to test the efficiency of propellers in the world. In 1912 the same testing apparatus was used by MIT student Frank W. Caldwell, who went on to become a leader in the development of propeller technology in both government and industry.

 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 Requa Gibson Company
 Physical Description Type: Two-Blade, Fixed-Pitch, Wood Engine Application: Unknown Dimensions 3-D (Propeller): 213.4 × 33 × 20.3cm, 11.8kg (7 ft. × 1 ft. 1 in. × 8 in., 26lb.)
Storage (Aluminum Pallet): 311.1 × 122.6 × 99.1cm, 192.3kg (10 ft. 2 1/2 in. × 4 ft. 1/4 in. × 3 ft. 3 in., 424lb.)
 Materials Walnut, Laminated wood, Museum Varnish, Brass
 Inventory Number A19300075000 Credit Line Gift of Alden Hydraulic Laboratory, Worcester Polytechnic Institute Data Source National Air and Space Museum Restrictions & Rights Usage conditions apply
For more information, visit the Smithsonians Terms of Use.