McCauley delivers first production 1L100 fixed-pitch composite propeller

McCauley Propeller Systems said today at the AOPA Aviation Summit in Hartford that it has delivered its first production ASTM certified 1L100 fixed-pitch composite propeller.

The 1L100 is an all-composite two-blade, fixed-pitch propeller specifically designed for the Cessna 162 Skycatcher's Continental Motors O-200D engine. The 1L100 is now in rate production at the McCauley manufacturing plant in Columbus, Ga., and became standard equipment on the Skycatcher beginning with serial number 108. The composite propeller will be offered to existing Model 162 owners for retrofit.

"In the early 1940s, Earnest McCauley helped advance aviation by designing and producing the first forged steel propeller to replace wooden propellers of the time. McCauley went on to build thousands of forged steel props; I just recently saw one from 1941 still flying on a Stearman trainer. It's remarkable that 70 years later we are keeping McCauley's innovative spirit alive by introducing our first composite propeller," said Peter Wilkinson, McCauley propeller business leader.

The propeller consists of a continuous fiber, single piece design giving it high strength as well as light weight. The 1L100 is 5-foot-6-inches in diameter and weighs just 9.3 pounds, 14.2 pounds less than the current aluminum propeller used on the Skycatcher.