Propeller Ceiling Fan

Ted

Ted

The pilot formerly known as Twin Engine Ted
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iFlyNothing
Laurie and I have been going through and redoing parts of the house, making some much-needed changes, updates, and personalizations.

The office is something of the "Airplane Room" where the airplane memorabilia goes. One idea I had was trying to make a ceiling fan out of a propeller. I know the simple way would be with something off a 172, but I'm thinking something bigger. Figure 3 or 4 blades and constant speed. Yes, I know I'm a glutton for punnishment and too much is never enough. :)

The weight is the big issue, and obviously it'd have to be hung from the joists to support it. I'm just wondering if anyone's done something like this before or has any guidance material for how to attack a project like this. The idea would be to get something non-airworthy that is of low value and use that as a basis.

My guess is that it's too impractical to do and I'd either have to go with a fixed-pitch prop or some sort of lookalike. So, to that end, any airplane-themed ceiling fans that look cool anyone can think of?
 
I'd go with the link above,.. unless you were going for a Tim Allen type fan and placing a Lycoming IO-540 behind it or something,... then you can call me to restructure your ceiling joist framing system. :thumbsup:
 
Ceiling fans are sized to the room. A larger, slower fan works better than a fast one and is quieter and moves the air without making a hurricane. Can you use a standard mount (modify the cowling on it in metal or fiberglass) and put on blades that mimic something like a SuperMarine with 5 blades?
 
Trying to kludge a CS prop would be pretty tough.

Using a FP prop could probably be done, speed control can be dealt with, but most readily available motors aren't going to last long with the kind of thrust load on the bearings that a big hunk of aluminum would cause. It would really need to be for looks, because it wouldn't really work well as a fan.

Probably best to go with the examples already posted...
 
Spoilsports.

Ted, I'd think you could buy a (used salvage) large 4 blade ceiling fan and replace two of the blades with your prop. The real prop would just be way heavier than the OEM fan blades so MORE POWER! Make sure you balance the blades lest it shake itself to death on the first run.

Maybe cut off a foot or so of the Cessna prop at the root to reduce the mass and diameter? Use some wooden blocks at the mounting bracket to adjust the pitch.
 
Rob Schaffer said:
I'd go with the link above,.. unless you were going for a Tim Allen type fan and placing a Lycoming IO-540 behind it or something,... then you can call me to restructure your ceiling joist framing system. :thumbsup:
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Couple W10x49s should work just fine. :D
 
mikea said:
Spoilsports.

Ted, I'd think you could buy a (used salvage) large 4 blade ceiling fan and replace two of the blades with your prop. The real prop would just be way heavier than the OEM fan blades so MORE POWER! Make sure you balance the blades lest it shake itself to death on the first run.

Maybe cut off a foot or so of the Cessna prop at the root to reduce the mass and diameter? Use some wooden blocks at the mounting bracket to adjust the pitch.
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Maybe use balsa wood and carve out/paint a prop to look like a typical GA Sensenich. Could also use balsa to make a spinner that would conceal the connection to the ceiling fan hub - or a real non-airworthy spinner. It would solve the weight problem...
 
I've seen those links before, and I think those fans look a bit too much "kids room" for what I want.

A standard base would be good, but it would have to be something that would be pretty darn strong to take the weight. On the surface, I figure some kind of significant support structure that goes into the ceiling joists would have to mount the prop (with a mount that has some tough bearings to take the support) with an external motor to power it.

I'll do a little more thinking on this, but as I figured, it's probably not going to work and be something attractive.
 
Check with Tony and see if he has pranged a prop recently. :D :D :D
 
You don't want a real prop up there. Even at low RPM it would kill anyone that happened to get his head in the way. There's just far too much mass. We sometimes just bump our heads on the prop while working on an airplane, and believe me, it hurts even at the really low speed your head hits it.

Dan
 
tonycondon said:
Nope. and i still have to work on getting the 182RG prop mounted somewhere...
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I'm starting to think a prop mounted on the wall is a better solution.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
My guess is that it's too impractical to do and I'd either have to go with a fixed-pitch prop or some sort of lookalike. So, to that end, any airplane-themed ceiling fans that look cool anyone can think of?
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Go to Rick's house. Look in the office. I'm sure he can tell you where he got it.

WAY COOL!

Edit: Ok He has this one from the site above:
http://www.ceilingfandesigners.com/servlet/the-8813/CRAFTMADE-WARBIRD-AIRPLANE-GLAMOROUS/Detail

And no it does not look Kid-room-ish
 
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Ted, can't you talk your current employer out of some orphaned TIGO-541s? That should have enough power to run a real prop :D
 
"Hi, I'm Ted, and this is my 1200 cubic foot food processor."
 
Dan Thomas said:
You don't want a real prop up there. Even at low RPM it would kill anyone that happened to get his head in the way. There's just far too much mass. We sometimes just bump our heads on the prop while working on an airplane, and believe me, it hurts even at the really low speed your head hits it.

Dan
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Or he can just yell "CLEAR PROP!!!" before throwing the lightswitch. :D
 
Funny story about ceiling fans: when I first looked for my home office (which was built to be a child's room therefore small) I had no idea that the fans came in such wildly different sizes.

I identified one I really liked and luckily the person at Home Depot stopped me before I bought it with the simple question: how large is this room?

I was almost ready to buy a 5 foot fan for an 11 foot square room. Now that would have been funny!
 
Missa said:
Go to Rick's house. Look in the office. I'm sure he can tell you where he got it.

WAY COOL!

Edit: Ok He has this one from the site above:
http://www.ceilingfandesigners.com/servlet/the-8813/CRAFTMADE-WARBIRD-AIRPLANE-GLAMOROUS/Detail

And no it does not look Kid-room-ish
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Ok, if Rick has one then I'll have to go by his house sometime and check it out. The pictures make them look cheap and kid-roomish, but if it looks better in person, it might be an option.

vontresc said:
Ted, can't you talk your current employer out of some orphaned TIGO-541s? That should have enough power to run a real prop :D
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TIGO-541? What's that? ;)

dmccormack said:
Ever have someone inadvertantly throw the fan switch when replacing a light bulb?

:hairraise:

Yeah -- I'm glad fans are lightweight.
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Last night I pulled down three ceiling fans and a light fixture, and installed one. Yeah, hit my head on the blades a few times. But I've also hit my head on prop blades a few times which hurt, and I have a hard head (as people on this board I'm sure will quickly agree). :wink2:

Tonight will probably be installing another fan and taking down a couple more. Anybody want some ugly old ceiling fans?

woodstock said:
Funny story about ceiling fans: when I first looked for my home office (which was built to be a child's room therefore small) I had no idea that the fans came in such wildly different sizes.

I identified one I really liked and luckily the person at Home Depot stopped me before I bought it with the simple question: how large is this room?

I was almost ready to buy a 5 foot fan for an 11 foot square room. Now that would have been funny!
Click to expand...

There are an incredible number of different fan styles and price ranges out there. The ones that came with the house were all identical. It worked fine with the flowery curtains and an ugly pale yellow paint in all the rooms. Basically I never liked the style - it was objectionably unobjectionable. Amazing what a coat of paint and a new ceiling fan can do for a room. We've searched around and found bunches of different types of fans. The ones we bought are of a good style and quality. Much, much better, and also mounted firmer with no weird noises or vibrations.

One room actually got a smaller ceiling fan that was in there. It looks much better than the larger one, not only in style but also in size. In the kitchen we're taking out a ceiling fan and replacing it with a light fixture, but a very cool one.

wabower said:
Another example of a deep and profound grasp of the obvious.
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They tell me that's why I'm management material! ;)
 
Cool idea. I know some people have propellers leaned up against their living room walls, and I decided I also wanted one. A few days ago while wandering a mall, I stepped into a Restoration Hardware store, and saw they had a ~6' Sensenich wooden prop for sale. When I was told they wanted $1600 for it, I left. I should have guessed, being in that store.
 
Ted,

I kinda liked this one:

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I saw it at an airport out your way - Franklin, IIRC (KFKL). Might want to give them a call and see where they got it. Or go for a visit, the Italian restaurant there is pretty good. Just be sure you don't cross the TSA Red Line Of DOOM on the ramp. ;)
 

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flyingcheesehead said:
Ted,

I kinda liked this one:

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I saw it at an airport out your way - Franklin, IIRC (KFKL). Might want to give them a call and see where they got it. Or go for a visit, the Italian restaurant there is pretty good. Just be sure you don't cross the TSA Red Line Of DOOM on the ramp. ;)
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LOL. I crossed it twice. I parked off the end of the restaurant.
 
kent i think they have a similar fan at Green Castle. It helps circulate Don and Rita's smoke.
 
I want to buy a ceiling fan that is ideal for rooms of up to 360 square feet or more than this having lifetime warranty . I am not having any budget issue
 
It wouldn't be too difficult to use a real prop as a form to make a mold and craft replica blades in a lightweight composite whether foam or hollow core. Cut to shape, beat to fit, paint to match. You may enjoy the project. A big Ham Standard replica would be pretty cool. I wonder if Whirlwind or Catto have any reject blades?
 
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