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Hegy Propellers

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hegy Propellers
Company typePrivate company
IndustryAerospace
FounderRay Hegy
FateOut of business
Headquarters,
ProductsAircraft propellers

Hegy Propellers, founded by Ray Hegy, was an American manufacturer of wooden propellers for homebuilt and ultralight aircraft. The company headquarters was located in Marfa, Texas.[1]

Hegy built fixed-pitch two and four bladed propellers with diameters from 12 to 120 in (30 to 305 cm) for Continental engines, Volkswagen air-cooled engines and Chevrolet Corvair engines. Propellers were made from birch and maple.[1]

History

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Ray Hegy worked in Milwaukee, building propellers for iceboats. This experience qualified him to respond to an ad "for cabinetmakers to build wooden craft propellers" in 1925.[2] Ray Hegy bought his first plane, a Waco-10, in 1928. In 1957, Hegy started building the Chuparosa and was finished after nine years at a cost of $600. The success of the Chuparosa changed Hegy "from a furniture maker and refinisher to a full-time carver of wooden propellers." At that time, Hegy made his propellers in his backyard workshop.[2]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Purdy, Don: AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook, page 84. BAI Communications. ISBN 0-9636409-4-1
  2. ^ a b "The Spirit of Marfa: A Lifetime of Airplanes". Texas Monthly. 5 (10). Emmis Communications: 91. October 1977. ISSN 0148-7736.