Anybody out there have a source for some nice scale WWI type props in 1/5 or 1/6 scale?? Something on the order of 14"-16" maybe but a nice wood with a correct appearance?

Proctor sells them [link]http://proctor-enterprises.com[/link] Don

First of all not all WWI propellers looked the same. To get some idea of the variety have a look at the following page:

http://www.woodenpropeller.com/Photo_Gallery.html

So the question becomes what does the propeller on YOUR PARTICULAR aircraft look like? The earlier aircraft tended to use the stereotypical "scimitar" shaped blades with high pitch (to compensate for the lower powered engines) while later aircraft like the Fokker DVII used a fairly "modern" looking prop.

Additionally while virtually all WWI props were laminated the laminations were rarely as visible as the scale model props commonly seen with their exaggerated brown and white striping. For my Fokker EIII I looked into the scale prop question extensively but in the end couldn't locate a scale prop in the 13" size I needed that looked significantly more scale than a plain old wooden Zinger.

My solution? Strip the varnish on the Zinger, stain with Mahogany, and relaquer. It may not be scale but a truly scale prop probably wouldn't have be right for the model engine.

That's a slick looking Eindekker, abufletcher-- do you have it set up for the dummy rotary to spin with the prop? Looks like it but not sure. Is that an OS lurking in the cowl?

I initially thought about ways to have the dummy rotate but discarded this idea as impractical on this model early on. Even as it is, I had to carve away at the back of the dummy extensively to allow it do sit far enough back on the actual engine to have a scale sized cowl (unlike the BUSA cowl which is about twice as deep as scale). The dummy is a heavily modified WB Le Rhone kit.

The engine is just a pedestrian Magnum .52 FS. But it works fine -- though a little underpowered for this heavy model. I'm thinking of substituting Magnums 60 size which has the same exact dimensions.

Check with Clark Industries. He made some WWI props.

Probably flies great scale-- not like those guys had to worry about compressibility in a dive, any way. The more I look at them, the more I want to build a WWI something or other. A guy at our field has a bunch of 1/4 scale WWI stuff--Bristol monoplane, DR-I, Nieuport 17, Sopwith Pup. I'm thinking seriously about Proctor's Sopwith 1-1/2 Strutter.

Looks like Proctor and Clark are selling the same stuff... Heard about a company called Nexus Supplies in the UK but can't find any details on them anywhere... The proctor stuff is right but they go from 14 to 17 and I will likely need a 15 or 16 which they do not sell...

I think that Clark is (or was) one of Proctor's suppliers. Give him a call because he may have inventory that Proctor does not have. I bought a prop from him that Proctor didn't have. Here's a picture of the prop I bought. Its stained and streaked to match that of the full scale.

I think APC props look WWI-ish.
Charlie

You guys amuse me. Have you ever thought to sit down and carve one? It would take a fraction of the time involved in chasing all over the continent(s) looking to buy one.

And you might gain a sense of achievement too?

Alan W.

Carving a flightworthy, balanced prop with the right airfoil sections would be a serious challenge. I'm not saying it couldn't be (or hasn't been) done but I don't think I'd trust myself. Now of course if all your after is a display prop, well no problem. As a display prop (and this is all that really counts in a scale contest) you could go all out and do a properly laminated version (not the garish versions for sale) with a completely scale contour a pitch -- one that would probably be completely unsuited to actual flight with model engines. You could even get the hub all decked out with scale plate and bolts and such.

Here's a shot of the actual prop on a Fokker EIII. This might be suitable for an electric motor but I doubt it would work on a glow engine.

Hello all.
As ABUFLETCHER says, making your own static props is relatively easy, I have been making my own for a while. I decided to have a go at making a working one, for a Fokker EV, which, as ABU says is quite a daunting thought but as it was a laminated jobbie, using mohogany and lime, it was easy to get the two blades the same, as it has built in contours to follow. I wanted scale diameter but couldn't get scale pitch as the Zenoah 26 would never have turned it. I settled on a 24" x 4" pitch. As it turned out, the model is a bit too keen to nose over, so I don't fly it with my homemade one anyway! The motor turned the prop at about 6500 rpm, loads less than it does on an 18" x 6", and the motor needed some needle adjustment to run throughout the range, but it worked well enough, but as said earlier, I reverted back to a readily available commercial size due to the choice of subject, and its desire to break props if you are not careful. Haven't broke one since though, it's just tempting me to put the labour intensive one back on !!
I also made one for my DH2 which is 30" x 10" scale in outline and diameter, but again cheats in pitch. The pitch wasn't enough so I had another made by Eat Props here in the UK. He cut the blank and rough shaped it, then I finished the shaping, stained and varnished it. He is a very nice man, he ships overseas, just tell him what size and give him a template for the blade shape you require, he'll do the rest. Very good value too!
Hope this helps, Ian.

Dear Abufletcher and Idigbo:

The PIPE here yet AGAIN...and WHOOPS there,"Abu"...that's a photo of a FOKKER E I's nose you've got there (complete with its VERY early "überschlissig" Spandau MG, that COULD shake itself to PIECES from all those SLOTS in the cooling barrel)...if you check the number of CYLINDERS on that rotary engine in your photo, it's actually got SEVEN cylinders...NOT NINE...and ONLY the FIVE pre-production M.5K/MG aircraft (the SHOULDER winged quintet of the earliest Eindeckers, E.1/15 of Otto Parschau through E.5/15 of Kurt Wintgens) and the production E Is had the OBERURSEL U.0 seven cylinder engines...an EXACT CLONE of the Gnôme Lambda rotary, used in the earliest examples of the Bristol Scout C!!!

And Idigbo...I have GOT to ask...HOW did you get your dummy rotary SPINNING on what LOOKS like a D.H.2 in that "action" photo you've included with your post? I've been SERIOUSLY thinking of following the example of ONE British RC Scale expert who once built a Sopwith Snipe many years ago in a fairly LARGE scale, for FAI RC Scale World Championship competition, and made the dummy Bentley rotary in ITS cowl SPIN, on a pair of large diameter bearings (something like AUTOMOTIVE WHEEL roller bearings, one front and one rear)...and the dummy rotary was NOT bolted to the model engine's crankshaft in ANY way...but had clear plastic vanes fitted to each one of the dummy rotary engine's cylinders to allow the PROPELLER BLAST to spin the dummy rotary on the roller bearings, when the model engine was running...and with the RCV SP series engines now in existence-and with yours truly actually in the process of GETTING one of the 120 SPs over here in New England this winter for my upcoming Bristol Scout C in RC Giant Scale starting late next Spring-that old idea that I've mentioned here, that the long-ago British RC Scale builder used on his Snipe, is JUST TOO APPEALING to pass up for MY own uses...like a dummy Gnôme Lambda for Lanoe Hawker's Scout C No.1611, OR Kurt Wintgens' M.5K/MG E.5/15...or even a version of one of Glen Torrance's quarter scale Dr Is, done up just like COLE PALEN's first repro Tripe at OLD RHINEBECK...THAT one gets a spinning dummy Oberursel Ur II/Le Rhône 9J 110 hp rotary in ITS nose!!!

As far as scale PROPS go, most of the Windsock Datafiles have RATHER GOOD drawings of them contained in the scale drawings featured in each and every ONE of them...and as for the Ansaldo SVA 5 (it's the subject of Datafile No.40), thanks to LEO OPDYCKE, I've even got a BEAUTIFUL scale drawing of the prop for THAT beauty as well, from the pages of HIS WW I AERO quarterly publication!

This weekend I've GOT to get back to the DesignCAD drawing project of the Scout C...to MODIFY my old RC buddy HANK ILTZSCH's Scout D construction plans into those for Lanoe Hawker's No.1611...but I've GOT to know HOW you got that dummy rotary SPINNING, Idigbo...and ALSO what it was MADE from, so it COULD withstand all that spinning!!!

Hope to hear from you soon...

Yours Sincerely,

The PIPE!

"I believe that pipe smoking contributes to a somewhat calm and objective judgment in all human affairs"...
unfortunately it also contributes to throat cancer.

For a cheap prop I think the Master Airscrew Wood Scimtar fits the bill for WWI looks in 12" to 22" sizes. I even use them on my sticks as well as Eindeckers. Restained and tips painted like a brass cap looks good.

This fellow is a real character, he is over in Wales, Tom Jones country he says! Anyway, he carves some really nice props....This is the E.A.T. props that was mentioned earlier..


http://www.props2000.freeserve.co.uk/


Randy