{"id":21475,"date":"2020-12-16T14:52:32","date_gmt":"2020-12-16T18:52:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/?p=21475"},"modified":"2020-12-16T14:52:32","modified_gmt":"2020-12-16T18:52:32","slug":"how-are-composite-propeller-blades-made","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/how-are-composite-propeller-blades-made\/","title":{"rendered":"How are Composite Propeller Blades Made?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n<p>Aviation has come a long way since the early days of wood and canvas airplanes. Today, many modern aircraft are designed with at least some carbon fiber composite material, whether it\u2019s used to build the wings, fuselage, or another component.<\/p>\n<p>Because it\u2019s so lightweight, strong, and easy to shape and repair, carbon fiber is also ideal for manufacturing aircraft propellers. Thousands of pilots have made the switch from aluminum to composite blades, and many aircraft manufacturers now select composite props as standard equipment on their airplanes.<\/p>\n<p>Have you ever wondered how these advanced composite propellers are made and what advantages they offer? Here\u2019s a closer look:<\/p>\n<h2><strong>How are composite propeller blades made?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>At Hartzell Propeller, we use a combination of human expertise and machine engineering to produce thousands of composite propeller blades in a given year.<\/p>\n<p>Hartzell\u2019s composite blades are full composite, not composite over a wood core. The structural part of our composite propeller blades is constructed using a combination of aerospace-grade carbon fiber and Kevlar\u00ae materials for optimal strength and performance.<\/p>\n<p>To produce one of our next-generation composite blades, we start by pulling carbon fiber socks over a low-density foam core, then inject resin with a vacuum pump and cure the blade after it\u2019s inserted into a mold and pressure is applied. After the cure is complete, we remove the blade from the mold and refine it to our precise standards. This includes meticulous quality checks and hand painting.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>What are the benefits of composite propellers?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Composite materials make it possible to create thin, efficient airfoils that can still bear the structural load required for optimum aircraft operations. Here are some of the top advantages of composite props:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Lightweight.<\/strong> Generally speaking, composite blades offer significant weight-savings over their aluminum counterparts. A lightweight aviation propeller increases an aircraft\u2019s useful load while reducing wear and tear on the engine. This makes composite blades ideal for many types of flying, from backcountry flying to business travel and even aerobatics. Reduced weight also allows manufacturers to add more blades, which can offer a number of performance advantages.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Durable.<\/strong> Composite blades are highly durable, making them well-suited for the conditions encountered while backcountry flying, such as gravel or grass strip runways.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Aerodynamic.<\/strong> With composite materials, it\u2019s possible to design blades that are thinner, wider, and overall more aerodynamic. At Hartzell, we\u2019ve engineered blades that offer a number of performance advantages, including shorter takeoff, better ground clearance, increased climb rate, increased cruise speed, and smoother operation.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Longer service life. <\/strong>Unlike aluminum propellers, composite blades can be repaired and returned to service without adversely affecting the airfoil shape. In fact, Hartzell\u2019s composite blades are certified for unlimited life, helping aircraft owners and operators save money and reduce flight downtime.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>When to choose a composite propeller over aluminum<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Hartzell Propeller offers both aluminum and composite propellers for a wide range of piston and turbine-powered airplanes. The right option for you will depend on many factors, including your airplane, the type of flying you do, your performance goals, and your budget.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>One major advantage of composite blades to consider is their longevity. Whereas aluminum blades are repaired by <em>removing<\/em> permanent material by grinding or filing it down, composite blades are repaired by <em>replacing <\/em>the material that was lost to nicks and gouges. This means that composite blades can be reconstructed and restored to factory-new condition multiple times. Another benefit is that small repairs between overhauls can also be made with little to no assistance from a prop shop.<\/p>\n<p>So, while composite blades may require a higher investment than aluminum props, you\u2019ll enjoy greater value on maintenance and repair over time.<\/p>\n<p>Interested in upgrading your aircraft propeller? We\u2019re happy to talk to you about finding the best aviation propeller suited for your specific airplane. <a href=\"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/contact\/\">Contact us today<\/a> to get started!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Aviation has come a long way since the early days of wood and canvas airplanes. Today, many modern aircraft are designed with at least some carbon fiber composite material, whether it\u2019s used to build the wings, fuselage, or another component. Because it\u2019s so lightweight, strong, and easy to shape and repair, carbon fiber is also [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":923,"featured_media":16777,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[105,13,150,366,31,533,240,345,53,62],"class_list":["post-21475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-aircraft","tag-aircraft-propeller","tag-aviation-propeller","tag-composite-aircraft-propeller","tag-composite-propeller","tag-composite-propeller-blades","tag-prop","tag-propeller-blades","tag-propeller-manufacturing","tag-propeller-overhaul"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How are Composite Propeller Blades Made? - Hartzell Propeller<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"At Hartzell Propller, producing composite aviation propeller blades is a high-tech and exacting process using a combination of human expertise and machine engineering.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/how-are-composite-propeller-blades-made\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How are Composite Propeller Blades Made? - Hartzell Propeller\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"At Hartzell Propller, producing composite aviation propeller blades is a high-tech and exacting process using a combination of human expertise and machine engineering.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/how-are-composite-propeller-blades-made\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Hartzell Propeller\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/HartzellProp\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-12-16T18:52:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/PC-12-5-Way-TP.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"598\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"evelyn\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@HartzellProp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@HartzellProp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"evelyn\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/how-are-composite-propeller-blades-made\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/how-are-composite-propeller-blades-made\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"evelyn\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ddade027dbcd56e7b4ddf9f971cd471d\"},\"headline\":\"How are Composite Propeller Blades Made?\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-12-16T18:52:32+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/how-are-composite-propeller-blades-made\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":649,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/how-are-composite-propeller-blades-made\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/PC-12-5-Way-TP.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"aircraft\",\"aircraft propeller\",\"aviation propeller\",\"composite aircraft propeller\",\"composite propeller\",\"composite propeller blades\",\"prop\",\"propeller blades\",\"propeller manufacturing\",\"propeller overhaul\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Blog\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/how-are-composite-propeller-blades-made\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/how-are-composite-propeller-blades-made\\\/\",\"name\":\"How are Composite Propeller Blades Made? - Hartzell Propeller\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/how-are-composite-propeller-blades-made\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/how-are-composite-propeller-blades-made\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/PC-12-5-Way-TP.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-12-16T18:52:32+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ddade027dbcd56e7b4ddf9f971cd471d\"},\"description\":\"At Hartzell Propller, producing composite aviation propeller blades is a high-tech and exacting process using a combination of human expertise and machine engineering.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/how-are-composite-propeller-blades-made\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/how-are-composite-propeller-blades-made\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/how-are-composite-propeller-blades-made\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/PC-12-5-Way-TP.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/PC-12-5-Way-TP.jpg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":598,\"caption\":\"Pilatus PC-12 Aircraft with a 5-blade Hartzell Propeller\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/how-are-composite-propeller-blades-made\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How are Composite Propeller Blades Made?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Hartzell Propeller\",\"description\":\"Airplane Propeller and Aircraft Propeller Systems\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ddade027dbcd56e7b4ddf9f971cd471d\",\"name\":\"evelyn\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/12a3e84e6b8ef429766372e78e10d8f8b37587914edd2a2489716362593e31e6?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/12a3e84e6b8ef429766372e78e10d8f8b37587914edd2a2489716362593e31e6?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/12a3e84e6b8ef429766372e78e10d8f8b37587914edd2a2489716362593e31e6?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"evelyn\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/author\\\/evelyn\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How are Composite Propeller Blades Made? - Hartzell Propeller","description":"At Hartzell Propller, producing composite aviation propeller blades is a high-tech and exacting process using a combination of human expertise and machine engineering.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/how-are-composite-propeller-blades-made\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How are Composite Propeller Blades Made? - Hartzell Propeller","og_description":"At Hartzell Propller, producing composite aviation propeller blades is a high-tech and exacting process using a combination of human expertise and machine engineering.","og_url":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/how-are-composite-propeller-blades-made\/","og_site_name":"Hartzell Propeller","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/HartzellProp","article_published_time":"2020-12-16T18:52:32+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":598,"url":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/PC-12-5-Way-TP.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"evelyn","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@HartzellProp","twitter_site":"@HartzellProp","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"evelyn","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/how-are-composite-propeller-blades-made\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/how-are-composite-propeller-blades-made\/"},"author":{"name":"evelyn","@id":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ddade027dbcd56e7b4ddf9f971cd471d"},"headline":"How are Composite Propeller Blades Made?","datePublished":"2020-12-16T18:52:32+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/how-are-composite-propeller-blades-made\/"},"wordCount":649,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/how-are-composite-propeller-blades-made\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/PC-12-5-Way-TP.jpg","keywords":["aircraft","aircraft propeller","aviation propeller","composite aircraft propeller","composite propeller","composite propeller blades","prop","propeller blades","propeller manufacturing","propeller overhaul"],"articleSection":["Blog"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/how-are-composite-propeller-blades-made\/","url":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/how-are-composite-propeller-blades-made\/","name":"How are Composite Propeller Blades Made? - Hartzell Propeller","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/how-are-composite-propeller-blades-made\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/how-are-composite-propeller-blades-made\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/PC-12-5-Way-TP.jpg","datePublished":"2020-12-16T18:52:32+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ddade027dbcd56e7b4ddf9f971cd471d"},"description":"At Hartzell Propller, producing composite aviation propeller blades is a high-tech and exacting process using a combination of human expertise and machine engineering.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/how-are-composite-propeller-blades-made\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/how-are-composite-propeller-blades-made\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/how-are-composite-propeller-blades-made\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/PC-12-5-Way-TP.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/PC-12-5-Way-TP.jpg","width":800,"height":598,"caption":"Pilatus PC-12 Aircraft with a 5-blade Hartzell Propeller"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/how-are-composite-propeller-blades-made\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How are Composite Propeller Blades Made?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/","name":"Hartzell Propeller","description":"Airplane Propeller and Aircraft Propeller Systems","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ddade027dbcd56e7b4ddf9f971cd471d","name":"evelyn","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/12a3e84e6b8ef429766372e78e10d8f8b37587914edd2a2489716362593e31e6?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/12a3e84e6b8ef429766372e78e10d8f8b37587914edd2a2489716362593e31e6?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/12a3e84e6b8ef429766372e78e10d8f8b37587914edd2a2489716362593e31e6?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"evelyn"},"url":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/author\/evelyn\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/923"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21475"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21475\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21476,"href":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21475\/revisions\/21476"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16777"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}