Flottorp Propeller, Fixed-Pitch, Two-Blade, Wood

Type: Two-Blade, Fixed-Pitch, Wood

Diameter: 254 cm (100 in.)

Chord: 22.9 cm (9 in.)

Engine Application: RAF 1a, V8, 67 kw (90 hp)

The Flottorp Manufacturing Company of Grand Rapids, Michigan was founded in 1912 by Norwegian born Ole Flottorp, making it one of the world’s oldest propeller producers. He built his first propeller in 1910, the company built about 175 models of fixed and controllable pitch wood propellers, and was a U.S. Government contractor during World War I. In the late 1950s, Flottorp was acquired by the Univair Aircraft Corporation of Aurora, Colorado.

According to the museum’s accession records, the artifact was used on an Airco De Havilland D.H.6 of about 1918. This basic trainer of the British Royal Flying Corps was developed about 1916, but later used in the U.S., Spain and elsewhere in the world.