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A History of the Development of

The Variable Pitch Propeller

by

Patrick Hassell

RAeS Hamburg 26th April 2012

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Negative Blade Angle of Attack (Windmilling)

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Three Fundamental Design Problems:

1) How to retain the separate VP blades

2) How to change pitch and provide the effort to do so

3) How to match the pitch to the flight/power condition

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Supermarine S-6B - Fairey-Reed Propeller

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Experimental Chauviere VP Airscrew c.1913

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Lynams Experimental VP airscrew on SE-5a - c.1917

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Lynams VP propeller for BE-2c - c.1917

Bolted blade root

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Blade Retention by Ball Race

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Blade Actuation by Yoke and Pushrods

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Manual Control System

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SE-5A Manual Control by Worm Gear

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Bristol VP Propeller

Jupiter engine 1924

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Turbocharged

Bristol Jupiter III

c.1923

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Bristol Seely Tourer with Jupiter III T

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Bristol VP Propeller

1924

Root detail of

Leitner-Watts blade

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Bristol Mechanically Actuated VP Propeller - 1924

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Hele-Shaw

Constant speed

VP airscrew

1924

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H L Pop Milner

Propeller Designer

worked at:

RAE Farnborough

Hele-Shaw

Gloster Aircraft Co.Bristol Aeroplane Co.

Rotol Ltd

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Glosters Hele-Shaw propeller - 1927

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Boeing 247 of United Airlines -1933

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De Havilland DH.88 Comet Racer - 1934

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Experimental

US Army

Propeller

Wright Fieldc.1925

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Effect of Counterweights

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Caldwell (Hamilton) Bracket Prop

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Douglas DC-1 with

Hamilton Standard

bracket propeller

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Frank Caldwell receiving the 1933 Collier Trophy from FDR

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Bristol Type 142 with original propellers - April 1935

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Bristol Bulldog FTB

Mercury engine and

HS bracket propelleras for Type 142

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Bristol Blenheim IV with DH bracket propeller 1939

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Rotol Factory at Staverton, Gloucester, 1938

(now Messier-Dowty landing gear)

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Vickers Wellesley with Rotol airscrew - Egypt 1938

RAF Long Range Development Flight

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Rotol External Cylinder Constant-speed Airscrew

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Rotol 5-bladeExternal Cylinder

Airscrew

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Lockheed YP-38

1940

Curtiss Electric

propellers

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Rotol / Curtiss Electric Propeller

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Curtiss Electric

Doughnut

propeller

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Lockheed C-130A with Aeroproducts propellers - 1956

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Bell P-39 Airacobra

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VDM Propeller with external electric drive - 1939

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VDM Propeller pitch change mechanism

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Hamilton Standard Hydromatic propeller hub

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Hydromatic cylinder, cams and gear drive

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Spitfire with Rotol 5-blade airscrew - 1944

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Experimental Meteor with R-R B.50 Trent turboprops

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Vickers Viscount R-R Darts with Rotol propellers - 1948

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Tyne Lincoln FTB with DH Hydromatic propeller

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Vickers Vanguard R-R Tynes with DH propellers

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Hamilton 54H60

propeller

Lockheed C-130B-H

Lockheed P-3 Orion

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De Havilland Comet 1 1st Jet Airline Service - May 1952

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McDonnell XF-88B Voodoo - 1953

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Typical Hartzell GA prop on Mitsubishi Mu-2

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Dowty Rotol

propeller on

BAe Jetstream 31

c.1982

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Hamilton metal-spar

composite-shell

propeller

c.1982

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Section of Dowty all-composite propeller blade

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Dowty Composite

Blade Root c.1980

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ATR-42 Hamilton Standard part-composite blades 1983

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Dowty

composite bladed

propeller for

Saab 340

1983

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Fokker 50 with Dowty computer-controlled 6-bladers

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Saab 2000 High-speed Turboprop - 1992Dowty 6-blade swept propellers with integrated electronic control

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Dowty 6-bladepropeller for

Lockheed C-130J

Hercules

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General Electric GE36 UDF Unducted Fan

on Douglas MD-80 FTB - 1988

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Pratt / Allison 578DX Propfan Demonstrator

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Last Touchdown Filton 26 November 2003

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Rolls-Royce Open Rotor Pusher Concept - 2011

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Airbus A400M Ratier 8-blade propellers

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Next Generation Airliner - circa 20xx ??