in 2018 Robert Hartzell grew up in the village of
Oakwood, Ohio, just a block from
Hawthorn Hill, where
Orville Wright lived. From the 1890s until the late 1910s, Hartzell's father and grandfather operated a sawmill and lumber supply company in
Greenville, Ohio (later moved to Piqua, Ohio) that also manufactured items such as wagons and gun stocks for
World War I. On the side, Robert owned a small airplane and did maintenance on it as a young man. In 1917, Orville Wright suggested that Hartzell use his
walnut trees to manufacture an aircraft propeller for his plane and others. Robert Hartzell founded the Hartzell Walnut Propeller Company in Piqua that year, and the company provided "Liberty" aircraft propellers for World War I warplanes. After the war, Hartzell Propeller built its own airplanes, including the FC-1 (the first aircraft made entirely of plywood). The FC-1 took first place in the Flying Club of St. Louis Trophy Race at the 1923 International Air Meet. During
World War II the company produced metal propellers for
Hamilton-Standard. After the war, Hartzell produced the first composite propellers for the
Republic RC-3 Seabee. Hartzell began making aluminum propellers in 1948 and developed the first full-feathering propellers for a light twin-engine aircraft in the 1950s. These were used in the
Aero Commander,
Piper Apache,
Cessna 310, and
Beech Twin Bonanza. Hartzell introduced a turboprop propeller in 1961 and, in 1975,
certified a 5-bladed propeller for the
Short 330. In 1978, the company produced a composite
aramid fiber propeller for the
CASA 212. In 1989, Hartzell produced sixteen-foot propellers for the
Boeing Condor, another record-breaking aircraft. In 1994, the company held the first
Friends of Hartzell Air Show in Piqua, Ohio for which Hartzell developed its first
aerobatic system. In 2013, the
Red Bull Air Race World Championship chose Hartzell to provide 3-blade composite propellers, carbon-fiber composite spinners, and governors to race teams. In 2006, the
FAA granted Hartzell the first certification for an Advanced Structural Composite (ASC II) propeller for general aviation. In July 2021, Hartzell Propeller purchased the assets of Tanis Aircraft Products, a company that makes aircraft engine pre-heat systems. Tanis President and CEO Douglas Evink became Hartzell Propeller's vice president of sales for the new Tanis business unit, and the Tanis operations remained near
Anoka County Airport, outside
Minneapolis, Minnesota. In late 2023, the company was sold to private equity firm Arcline Investment Management. It opened its first location in
India in 2024. ==See also==