Building Wright Replicas

Dave Meyer takes minute measurements of the reconstruction 1911 Wright Model B's distinctive "bent end" propeller, which is made of spruce. The bent-end propeller was the Wrights' standard propeller from 1905 until 1915. It has an efficiency rate of 80 percent, meaning that it can convert 80 percent of an aircraft's engine power into useful thrust. Even with all the aviation innovations since the Wrights, today's propellers have efficiency rates of about 85 percent, only a slight improvement on the Wrights' remarkably advanced design.