Sensenich Propeller Question

[clocke]

Hello-

New to the forum, and quite out of my league here. My wife's aunt is asking me to get some information about a propeller her late husband had. She wanted to know when it would have been manufactured and if it is worth selling it without any paperwork.

Here is the information I have:

It's a wooden propeller. There is a Sensenich Bros. logo with the town of Lilitz, PA. listed.

There are several numbers imprinted in the propeller.

• The model number is 70L45. My understanding is that this refers to the length of the propeller (70 inches) and the pitch of the propellers (45 degrees). The L would refer to the kind of airplane that it was for. I don't know what the plane was that he had.
• There is a Serial Number: 80958. I found a list of Sensenich propeller serial numbers but I was unable to find a match on the number.
• It says HP. 55 and R.P.M. 2300.

I would appreciate any help that the forum can offer. Thank you!

[Dave]

You're almost there. The pitch is actually inches, not degrees, and represents the thread length similar to a screw, i.e. how far forward it would travel in a full revolution in a solid medium. The "L" in this case refers to Lycoming, the engine. The absence of a letter in the serial number indicates a manufacture date between 1932 and 1942, and the Lititz decals from that area make it more attracive as a display propeller than the later Lancaster decals.

The aircraft that used that model prop are found on this page.

[clocke]

Thank you.

That's some good information. I read that not having a letter in the serial number meant it was from that era, but I thought I must be making a mistake.

Any idea how much we should ask for it?

[Dave]

Any idea how much we should ask for it?

Check eBay for similar props that have sold, not asking prices, and it depends a lot on condition. In "average" condition I'd guess that one is worth $300 or so, but in perfect condition possibly quite a bit more.

[clocke]

Many thanks, Dave. You have been very helpfull.