Full-scale wind-tunnel tests on several metal propellers having different blade forms

This report gives the full-scale aerodynamic characteristics of five different aluminum alloy propellers having four different blade forms. They were tested on an open cockpit fuselage with a radial air-cooled engine having conventional cowling. The results show that (1) the differences in propulsive efficiency due to the differences in blade form were small; (2) the form with the thinnest airfoil sections had the highest efficiency; (3) it is advantageous as regards propulsive efficiency for a propeller operating in front of a body, such as a radial engine, to have its pitch reduced toward the hub.