Powerfin Propellers, is an American manufacturer of

composite Composite or compositing may refer to: Materials * Composite material, a material that is made from several different substances ** Metal matrix composite, composed of metal and other parts ** Cermet, a composite of ceramic and metallic materials ...

propellers A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...

for

homebuilt Homebuilt machines are machines built outside of specialised workshops or factories. This can include different things such as kit cars or homebuilt computers, but normally it pertains to homebuilt aircraft, also known as amateur-built aircraft or ...

, light-sport and

ultralight aircraft Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and conventional three-axis control aircraft with ailer ...

, as well as

wind power Wind power or wind energy is mostly the use of wind turbines to electricity generation, generate electricity. Wind power is a popular, sustainable energy, sustainable, renewable energy source that has a much smaller Environmental impact of wi ...

generation systems. The company headquarters is located in

Hurricane, Utah Hurricane ( ) is a city in Washington County, Utah, United States. Its population was 20,036 as of the 2020 United States Census estimates. The Hurricane valley makes up the easternmost part of the St. George Metropolitan area and is becoming ...

, although it was formerly in

El Campo, Texas El Campo is a city in Wharton County, Texas, United States. The population was 12,350 at the 2020 Census, making it the largest city in Wharton County. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.5&nb ...

and originated in

Arlington, Washington Arlington is a city in northern Snohomish County, Washington, United States, part of the Seattle metropolitan area. The city lies on the Stillaguamish River in the western foothills of the Cascade Range, adjacent to the city of Marysville. It i ...

.Purdy, Don: ''AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook'', page 84. BAI Communications. Jackson, Paul (ed): ''Jane's All The World's Aircraft 2010-2011'', page 986. Jane's Information Group, 2011. Jackson, Paul (ed): ''Jane's All The World's Aircraft 2011-2012'', page 933. Jane's Information Group, 2011. Jackson, Paul (ed): ''Jane's All The World's Aircraft 2012-2013'', page 1007. Jane's Information Group, 2012.

Products

Powerfin produces

carbon fiber Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...

two, three, four and five-bladed propellers for

two-stroke A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a Thermodynamic power cycle, power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being comple ...

and

four-stroke A four-stroke (also four-cycle) engine is an internal combustion (IC) engine in which the piston completes four separate strokes while turning the crankshaft. A stroke refers to the full travel of the piston along the cylinder, in either directio ...

engines up to the

Rotax 914 The Rotax 914 is a turbo-charged, four-stroke, four-cylinder, horizontally opposed aircraft engine with air-cooled cylinders and water-cooled cylinder heads. It is designed and built by the Austrian company BRP-Powertrain, owned by Bombardier R ...

of . The company is noted for its use of the

Clark Y Clark Y is the name of a particular airfoil profile, widely used in general purpose aircraft designs, and much studied in aerodynamics over the years. The profile was designed in 1922 by Virginius E. Clark using thickness distribution of the Germa ...

airfoil An airfoil (American English) or aerofoil (British English) is the cross-sectional shape of an object whose motion through a gas is capable of generating significant lift, such as a wing, a sail, or the blades of propeller, rotor, or turbine. ...

, infinite blade angle adjustment, as well as for the very low

rotating inertia The moment of inertia, otherwise known as the mass moment of inertia, angular mass, second moment of mass, or most accurately, rotational inertia, of a rigid body is a quantity that determines the torque needed for a desired angular acceler ...

of its designs, a key wear factor on lightweight engine gearboxes. The propeller blades are constructed of carbon fiber and aramid pre-preg cloth with a foam core, and cured in an autoclave. The company's Apex series of two- to five-bladed propeller hubs were

CAD/CAM CAD/CAM refers to the integration of Computer-aided design (CAD) and Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM). Both of these require powerful computers. ''CAD'' software helps designers and draftsmen; ''CAM'' "reduces manpower costs" in the manufactur ...

designed and are created on a Haas VF-4 CNC vertical milling station.

History

Founded by Stuart Gort, the company went out of business in 2009. It was acquired by

powered parachute A powered parachute, often abbreviated PPC, and also called a motorized parachute or paraplane, is a type of aircraft that consists of a parafoil with a motor and wheels. The FAA defines a powered parachute as ''a powered aircraft a flexible o ...

manufacturer Frederick Scheffel and production moved to

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

in late 2009 and then to

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

in 2012.

Applications

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://www.powerfin.com/ Aircraft propeller manufacturers Aerospace companies of the United States

Products

History

Applications

See also

References

External links