Don't know Manfacturer

[GlenGilbert]

I have a center section of a propeller that belonged to my Grandfather on my Dads side. He was the 4th Federally licensed aviation inspector in the country. Both a pilot and aircraft mechanic he was part of the movement that pushed for the FAA. He was at Roosevelt field mostly and knew pilots like Lindbergh, Earhart and "Wrong way Corrigan". (I actually have correspondence from some of them to my Grandfather.) As such it is with high hopes that the propeller I have is something special. After reading this and several other sites I am still at a loss. There doesn't seem to be any Mfg markings, only a 5 digit number. I've attached photos. Can anyone help me figure out what this is?

Thx-

[Dbahnson]

Unfortunately in most cases the manufacturer's name was only on the decals, and absent that there's no characteristics of a hub that would define a specific manufacturer or even model of propeller. The best you can do is eliminate some of the engine possibilities and establish a "probable" engine application.

I'm guessing that it's an OX5 hub, but you can go to this page to see how to get exact measurements then follow the link to the data page.

The "13613" is almost certainly a serial number, as I could not match it up with any published design numbers.

There are some marks that suggest that it was mounted on an engine at one point, and the usual story that goes with a hub-only prop is that the tip(s) were damaged in a ground strike and what was left was removed to save the hub.

[GlenGilbert]

Thanks for the information. One of the planes my grandfather flew was a "Jenny". Maybe it came off of that from a not to perfect landing, :^) and he wanted to save it.? I'm curious, why would anyone be concerned with saving the hub from a damaged prop? What, outside of decoration could you do with it?

-Mark

[Dbahnson]

In the whole scheme of things a hub is nearly worthless, but they were often kept as souvenirs and often ended up having clocks installed in them. That's particularly true of British hubs, which typically had a drawing number stamped on them that could at least narrow down the usage to one or two models of aircraft for which they were designed.