tonytech2
thanks this is one of the best contributions to this thread so far! Great information. The reason behind sqaure vs. rounded prop tips has always intrigued me.
As a very young kid I grew up travelling on DC3s with rounded tip HS props, and later when I flew in a Strat and a Britannia I was impressed by the handsome square tipped props.
To recap then:
- the original steel HS were square tipped
- the later improved HS dural were round tipped
- CE were all square tipped and were superceded by dural HS
- The original Britannia props were steel square tipped HS types made under license by de Havilland (and later upgraded to the dural HS type, round tip)
One question remains : why were some planes fitted with both types (round and square) at same time like the Britannia in the pic above?
Was that just an interim step while all were replaced by the upgraded round tip HS?
I suppose the CE props aligned well with the all electric concept for the B377. Does that mean no hydraulics even for landing gear?
Reenginering the whole of the old United fleet by BOAC is quite incredible
considering the short life of the Strat in airline service.