Composite Propellers for Ultralight Aircraft Since 1983
Our Mission
Our mission is to continue to produce the highest quality composite propeller for ultralight aircraft possible. We are always available to help select the correct Ultra-Prop for your application. We will not hesitate to tell you if we cannot meet your needs. Safety and customer satisfaction are our main goals. In fact, satisfaction is guaranteed. If our propeller does not work, after we have worked with you to optimize the installation, you may return it. Unless the propeller has been abused, modified or damaged, a full refund for the cost of the prop will be given.
Company History
1980
Competition Aircraft was started in Painesville, Ohio as a subsidiary of Associated Enterprises, a cutting-edge innovative company founded and owned by Jack Venaleck. After Jack's success in his core businesses, he began to fulfill his love of aviation.
1982
Competition Aircraft entered the ultralight market in 1982 with the Ultra-Prop. With the parent company's expertise in the injection molding field, it was natural to explore the feasibility of using engineering thermoplastics to make a composite propeller for ultralights. It worked, and a DuPont glass reinforced nylon blade was tooled and extensively tested. The patented design has produced over 63,000 blades as of 2023. Every new blade has the same weight and balance as one made in the 1980's and can be replaced without the need for balancing. The unique pitch block system keeps every blade angle exactly the same without the need for protractors or special tools to change and adjust pitch. The two, three and four blade hubs have a high strength steel plate insert to carry the radial loads of the blades.
1984
Bob Davis was the general manager of Competition Aircraft during the Ultra-Prop development. After one year of production in Ohio, Bob and his wife, Matilda, bought the company and moved it to California in 1984, then moving it to Hurricane, Utah in 2022.
The Ultra-Prop I blade has a very simple airfoil and planform with no aerodynamic or geometric twist. The selection of this configuration has a story too long to reiterate. Suffice to say, it works very well on many ultralights. The Ultra-Prop I continues to be a popular product. It has found an almost exclusive "prop/fan" application on airboats and flounder rigs. These boats use 6 to 35 HP industrial engines and run the Ultra-Prop I direct drive. We also make adapters to attach the prop to the engine shaft.
2017 Ultra-Prop II
As new, faster, and higher-powered ultralights developed, our limited diameter and less than optimum blade aerodynamics limited our market.
In 2017, we introduced a new 66" diameter Ultra-Prop II with a sophisticated blade designed by Craig Catto (Catto Props).
To date almost 5,000 new blades have been molded. Ultra-Prop II's can be fitted on higher speed and higher HP craft, including applications that use the popular Rotax 912.
2024
In 2024, Bob and Matilda Davis, wishing to retire, sold Ultra-Prop to Michigan based Ultra-Prop LLC.
Ultra-Prop LLC is now owned and operated by Rick Hayes, his wife Linda and their daughter and son-in-law, Jennifer and Montgomery Morgan.
We are proud to continue offering high quality propellers and great customer service to vendors and independent flyers around the world.