Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer

Observation of a foghorn allegedly led S. Albert Reed to a better way to generate acoustic noise with electric motors whirling duralumin vanes. In 1920 neighboring Curtiss employees challenged Reed to instead design lightweight, but strong and efficient aeronautical propellers made from duralumin.

The Reed Propeller Company was formed as a subsidiary of the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company in 1924. By early-1926, its products were used in more than eighty engine and airframe combinations, and Reed was awarded the Collier Trophy for 1925. However, with daily use by the U.S. Air Mail Service and others, it became apparent that his propeller was structurally unsound and, with its inability to vary pitch, the concept did not survive the 1920s.

This early flat-blade artifact is from the personal collection of Herman J. Schonenberg, a Grumman employed historian, and was apparently obtained as a "habitue" of Roosevelt Field, Long Island, NY, where Curtiss had a plant.

 Display Status

This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.
Object Details
Country of Origin United States of America Type PROPULSION-Propellers & Impellers Manufacturer Curtiss-Reed Propeller Co.
 Physical Description Type: Two Blade, Fixed-Pitch, Metal and Wood Diameter: 243.8 cm (96 in.) Chord: 19.7 cm (7.75 in.) Engine Application: Unknown Dimensions 3-D (Propeller): 243.8 × 20.3 × 14.6cm, 21.3kg (8 ft. × 8 in. × 5 3/4 in., 47lb.)
Storage (Aluminum Pallet): 351.8 × 121.9 × 129.5cm, 364.2kg (11 ft. 6 1/2 in. × 4 ft. × 4 ft. 3 in., 803lb.)
 Materials HAZMAT: Cadmium Plating
Laminated wood, Aluminum alloy, Paint, Steel
 Inventory Number A19650062000 Credit Line Gift of the Grumman Aircraft Corp. Data Source National Air and Space Museum Restrictions & Rights Usage conditions apply
For more information, visit the Smithsonians Terms of Use.