Propellor ID: Curtiss R4?

[Ravisubramanian]

Hi,

Am a long time aviation enthusiast and finally managed to get what I think is a good find.

Need to check if I have id’ed it. Few facts:

Looks really old, dark coloured wood, All the 8 bolt holes are sealed, can’t find any markings, length is 98 inches. Pics attached...

Look forward to your opinion .... thanks

(*Edit: Changed Subject)

[Dbahnson]

It's the wrong size for an R4 and the dimensions of the hub on yours also look smaller. See this link.

Unfortunately, it's impossible to be certain of a propeller's use without matching drawing (blueprint) numbers to known aircraft and/or having the aircraft stamped on the prop. But your prop certainly resembles several that I've seen that were used on a Standard J1 with the Hall-Scott engine, like this one.

If you measure the hub dimensions carefully, you can eliminate either the Hall-Scott or the OX5 (or possibly both). The Hall-Scott A7A had a 6" bolt hole circle diameter, where the OX5 had one that was 5 1/4" in diameter. Some of them had a brass plate with the aircraft data, so look for evidence that one had been removed from the hub.

It's a "good find" even if it can't be positively identified.

[Ravisubramanian]

Hi... sorry for the long lay off. was fixing up my house.. Measured a few more dimensions:

Bolt Hole Circle measures 6"
Hub Thickness is also 6"
Center Bore is 2-6/8"or 2.75"
Bolt Size is around 1/2" or a little less
Prop is 98" or 8'2"

No evidence of a brass plate being removed...

The hub thickness itself puts the Hall Scott and the Curtis OX 5 out of luck i guess.
Hispano Suiza, Gnome and Clerget are the only other options. But i looked up the kind of props they used and it doesn't really match what i have ..

Still throws up a lot of possibilities as per the link in the reply....

[Dbahnson]

It might one of the props for a Burgess airplane. I've seen several Burgess propellers and owned this one before I sold it. It certainly looks similar, but then many of them do resemble others.

[Ravisubramanian]

Did some more digging.. Looks like they were likely used on the Hispano Suiza engines possibly on the Curtiss N9H Seaplane.

I measured it again and the length is actually 96" or 97" so 8'.

However while the hub thickness is 6", the Hub width on the prop is 8 5/8" edge to edge. The Hub (Metal) Dia as per the reference sheet is 7 3/32 so not sure if there is a match as yet?

Also any ideas on how to make a realistic looking hub to mount the prop. Was keen to mount it on a hub

[Dbahnson]

Did some more digging.. Looks like they were likely used on the Hispano Suiza engines possibly on the Curtiss N9H Seaplane.

I measured it again and the length is actually 96" or 97" so 8'.

However while the hub thickness is 6", the Hub width on the prop is 8 5/8" edge to edge. The Hub (Metal) Dia as per the reference sheet is 7 3/32 so not sure if there is a match as yet?

Also any ideas on how to make a realistic looking hub to mount the prop. Was keen to mount it on a hub

The wooden hub diameter doesn't necessarily correspond to the metal hub diameter (it's always larger), but the bolt hole circle diameter is very specific to the engine model. So for the Hisso engine circle that crosses the center of all of the bolt holes should be just under 6 inches (5.905).

If it is a Hisso sized hub, your best bet is to find one on eBay or some other source rather than to try to make something. If you are just looking for a way to display it, see this link.