1920s Fokker C-2 Trimotor - Bird of Paradise - Westinghouse Micarta X52359 Propeller Blades

Ultra-Rare 1927–1929 Westinghouse Micarta Experimental Propeller Blades (Drawing X52359) — Documented Fokker C-2 / Wright J-5 Pair

This matched pair of Westinghouse Micarta experimental propeller blades, Drawing X52359, represents one of the rarest pieces of early American aviation hardware you will ever encounter. Manufactured for the U.S. Army Air Service Experimental Engineering Division at McCook Field and later Wright Field, these blades were produced between 1927 and 1929 for the Wright 180 HP J-5 Whirlwind engine.

The J-5 Whirlwind and the Westinghouse Micarta propeller design were the same powerplant/propeller combination used on the Army’s Fokker C-2 trimotor, including the aircraft that completed the first nonstop California-to-Hawaii flight in June 1927. The “Bird of Paradise” C-2A, piloted by Maitland and Hegenberger, relied on the J-5 Whirlwind and early Westinghouse Micarta blades during its development and testing phase. The blades offered here are from that same documented engineering lineage and were part of the continued refinement and test program immediately following the famous trans-Pacific success.

Their direct assignment to the C-2 is verified in a period document, the Air Corps Information Circular, Vol. VII, No. 601, published November 1, 1927. The exact line reads:

“C-2–3 Wright J-5, left and right, X52359; Fokker.”

This establishes that blades built under Drawing X52359 were engineered specifically for the Fokker C-2 platform, the very aircraft type used in the first successful California-to-Hawaii crossing. The presence of this drawing number, the J-5 engine stampings, and the 1927 Air Service acceptance coding locks these blades firmly into the early long-distance flight era.

Both blades carry their original Air Service (A.S.) acceptance numbers and engraved inspector codes, proving they were produced and tested as a left-right matched pair. The scalloped brass leading-edge armor identifies them as late-1920s aerodynamic refinement test blades—an incredibly rare configuration used only during the composite-propeller improvement trials at McCook/Wright Field. The “RAD 4.30” stamp (a radius station at 4.30 feet) is another engineering-only marking found exclusively on test articles, not production propellers.

Westinghouse Micarta blades—especially experimental Air Service blades—were built in extremely small quantities, and most were destroyed in testing or scrapped by the early 1930s. Only a few single blades are known to survive in museum collections, and complete matched left-right pairs with full stampings are almost never seen. With documented linkage to the C-2 program and the same engineering lineage as the first California-to-Hawaii flight, this set is realistically one of the only surviving matched X52359 pairs in private hands.

This is an extraordinary artifact from the formative years of American long-range aviation and Air Service engineering.

Detailed Specifications and Markings

Blade Type:
Westinghouse Micarta experimental composite propeller blades
Drawing / Part No.: X52359
Era: 1927–1929
Program: U.S. Army Air Service / Air Corps Engineering Division
Origin: McCook Field and Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio
Aircraft Assignment (documented): Fokker C-2 (Wright J-5 Whirlwind)
Source document: Air Corps Information Circular, Vol. VII, No. 601 — published November 1, 1927
Citation: “C-2–3 Wright J-5; left and right, X52359; Fokker.”

Blade 1 – Stamped Markings:
ENG. 180 H.P. WRIGHT
PART NO. X52359
A.S. NO. 26-119
INSP. NO. 03690
RAD 4.30 (radius station at 4.30 feet)

Blade 2 – Stamped Markings:
ENG. 180 H.P. WRIGHT
DWG. NO. X52359
A.S. NO. 26-117 (previous number scratched out and reassigned during testing)
INSP. NO. 03688
RAD 4.30 (radius station at 4.30 feet)

Measurements:
Blade length: 52 inches
Width at widest point: 8 inches
Blade thickness: 4.5 inches
Height on display with hub barrel: 55.5 inches
Material: Westinghouse Micarta composite with metal root ferrule
Leading edge: Scalloped brass/bronze armor used in late-1920s refinement tests

Display Components Included:
(2) Hamilton Standard Hydromatic propeller hub barrels
Chrome powdercoated
Heavy and stable for safe display
Allows both blades to stand securely at full height
Creates an authentic, period-correct presentation suitable for museums, offices, hangars, or high-end aviation collections

Additional Notes:
These blades were produced in the same small Air Service batch, with consecutive inspector numbers only two digits apart. They are authentic 1920s experimental items, not decorations or reproductions. Very few X-series Micarta propellers survive, and nearly none with documented C-2 lineage relating to the first Hawaii flight.