Rotol propeller – Supermarine Spitfire Mk.V

Reproduction of a wooden laminated three-bladed propeller from the most elegant airplane ever built.

Authentic material: layered ashwood
Diameter: 320cm / single blade is 145cm long (can be scaled down)
Original manufacturer: Rotol Airscrews, United Kingdom, 1939
Our production: since March 2022

Custom-made from two types of timber

In 2021 a Slovak customer came with an idea to create a slightly scaled down reproduction of a wooden propeller from Supermarine Spitfire that would be situated in his living room. Diameter is 250cm, and the request was to produce the blade from a combination of oak and beech.

I obtained a drawing of the original blade from Spitfire Mk.V with a designation RA690/RS. Each blade is glued up of six layers, carved in a copy lathe and sanded by hand into the exact shape. The curves at the root of the blade were most difficult to reproduce, so that part had to by done by hand tools. The surface is finished with teak oil and tips of the blades are sprayed with the typical yellow color. Each blade also has its production and technical detailed stamped at the center section.

Even though we are able to manufacture an aluminum cone, the customer decided to use his own cone made of fiberglass sprayed with crème white lacquer. The blades and the cone are connected with a simple sheet-metal construction, which holds all the parts firmly and allows mounting the propeller on the wall.

The advantage is that the propeller can be shipped disassembled, contrary to the classic two-blade propellers, and so we can save on shipping expenses.