Fairey Reed Propellers

        In the USA during the 1920s, the pioneering aerospace designer Sylvanus Albert Reed was working with the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company Inc. and developed a series of propellers designed for durability and efficiency.  This increased overall performance and enabled the use of engines of greater power, especially on the Schneider Trophy Racing aircraft like the Curtiss R3C .

   Manufactured from Duralumin, a high-tech alloy of the day, the sleek design and blade profile proved to be very successful, so much so that they were used on numerous aircraft from the late 1920s right through to the 1960s.

Initially Manufactured in the USA by Curtiss they were later produced under license by the propeller division of the Fairey aircraft company. Favoured by many pilots for their flying characteristics, these props only really became obsolete due to the invention of the Variable Pitch Propeller.

    Subsequently Sylvanus Albert Reed was recognised and credited as a man who invented the aluminium aircraft propeller blade.