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EN ROUTEHartzell HistoryThe late Robert N. Hartzell owned a small airplane and did maintenance as a young man. Originally dreaming of being a barnstormer, his father, at his mother’s request, urged him to focus on aircraft repair and rebuilding. While repairing airplanes Hartzell noticed a high failure rate with wood propellers.His friend Orville Wright suggested he use walnut to manufacture propellers. This marked the beginning of Hartzell Walnut Propeller Company in 1917. He built the first propellers using hand axes on walnut logs.The Hartzell family sold the propeller company to a Fortune 500 company in 1981. Since 1987, Hartzell Propeller Inc. has been owned and operated by the Brown family.Hartzell Propeller and its sister company, Hartzell Engine Technologies LLC, form the general av•iation business unit of Tailwind Technologies Inc. The aerospace technology company also includes Hi-Tech Metal Finishing and Mayday Manufacturing. For more info on Hartzell Propeller go to hartzellprop.com. T&TWinner Aviation Inc. Quarter Page4/C AdNortheast Air Inc. Half Page4/C AdNOVEMBER 2015TWIN & TURBINE • 37
