| Themes > Science > Physics > Fluid Dynamics > Flying the flag for fluid dynamics > Aerodynamics > Selected Topics of Model Aerodynamics > Propulsion by Propellers > Propeller or Airscrew? |
Propellers have also been called airscrew in the past, but this term may be misleading, because a propeller does not move like a mechanical screw through a rigid medium. You don't call a wing knife or slicer because it also does not slice through the air in the direction of its inclined mean line. Each section of a propeller (or of a wing) has a certain angle of incidence and is moving through the air at its unique angle of attack - both are independent. On the other hand, a mechanical screw or a knife moves through a rigid material exactly in the direction which is given by its pitch or angle of incidence - a screw with different pitches along its radius would get stuck, a propeller does not. |
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