Conceiving the aerodynamic propeller was another example of the Wrights’ great ability to think visually and turn abstract ideas into working hardware. The Wrights decided to use two, slow-turning, large propellers, because this arrangement offered great efficiency, and the propellers could be spun in opposite directions to neutralize the gyroscopic effects of the whirling blades.
Each propeller was 8 feet in diameter and made from two laminations of 1-inch spruce. The blades were shaped with a hatchet and a drawknife and the tips covered with fabric and varnished to prevent splitting.

Wilbur and Orville again drew upon their familiarity with bicycles in creating the transmission linkage. To transfer power from the engine to the propellers, they devised a simple chain-and-sprocket arrangement running from the engine crankshaft to a pair of steel propeller shafts. To make the propellers rotate in opposite directions, they simply twisted one of the two chains in a figure eight.