Automatic and Controllable Airscrews for Light Aeroplanes

Abstract

FOR the past twenty‐five years inventors and engineers have laboured to design and perfect an airscrew in which pitch change is accomplished automatically by the action of natural forces to which any operating airscrew is subject. Millions of dollars and extensive efforts in this country and abroad have gone into this quest which produced some unusual designs in the past, but has provided aviation today with the practical realization of feasible automatic airscrews. Controllable airscrew designs featuring simple construction and operation have undergone a similar development period. Many factors have influenced this development; such as considerations of cost, mechanical refinement and the state of small aeroplane and engine performance, which in the past would not always have benefited greatly from variable pitch. Today, the advantages automatic and controllable airscrews hold for performance and desirability of the small and medium planes, which are expected to be used widely, warrant thoughtful consideration.

Citation

(1946), "Automatic and Controllable Airscrews for Light Aeroplanes", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 18 No. 3, pp. 74-88. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb031344