When did Hartzell Propeller Inc. enter the propeller business?
When Orville Wright moved to Oakwood, Ohio in 1914, he became acquainted with his neighbor, George Hartzell. George s son, Robert, had a strong interest in aviation and was encouraged by Orville to begin making propellers at his father s walnut wood products business. Robert left the University of Cincinnati in 1917 to begin the propeller venture. The United States had just entered World War I and the war effort created an instant and almost unmanageable demand for Hartzell Walnut Propellers. Hartzell supplied propellers to nearby Dayton-Wright Airplane Company, as well as Glen Curtiss company and other early aviation pioneers.
