APC Propellers
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Summary

APC Propellers (Advanced Precision Composites), originally founded as Landing Products in 1989, is a California-based manufacturer of composite propellers for RC aircraft, multi-rotor aircraft, and drone motors. It is one of a small number of US-headquartered specialist propeller makers that manufacture domestically, in contrast to the largely China-concentrated motor and ESC layers of the drone propulsion stack.

Key Facts

  • Founded: 1989, originally as Landing Products, by Fred Burgdorf in Sacramento, California
  • Type: Component/subsystem supplier — propeller manufacturer
  • Status: Active, privately held
  • Key metric(s): Over 500 propeller sizes currently available, ranging from 4-inch to 27-inch diameters; two-blade injection-molded designs up to 27 inches, three/four-blade designs up to 16 inches; propellers made from long glass or carbon fiber composite with a nylon matrix
  • Value chain position: Component/subsystem supplier (propellers for RC/drone OEMs, integrators, and end users, not a complete platform)

What It Is / How It Works

APC’s origin story is notable within the propeller-manufacturing niche: founder Fred Burgdorf began the company with a Numerically Controlled milling machine and a first-generation Apple Macintosh computer, and when existing CAD software proved inadequate for designing the complex three-dimensional blade shapes involved, APC developed its own proprietary CAD tooling — a capability the company has retained since its earliest years. The “APC” name itself stands for Advanced Precision Composites, describing the tough glass-fiber or carbon-fiber-reinforced nylon composite material the company has used since its founding and continues to use today.

The product line spans RC airplane propellers (for both internal combustion and electric motors), multi-rotor/drone propellers, and marine propellers, with continuous expansion of size offerings (over 500 sizes as of the company’s own materials). APC maintains close relationships with the competitive RC aviation community specifically to stay current on evolving aircraft and motor performance, treating propeller design as an ongoing engineering problem rather than a static product. The company’s propellers were used in the 2017 Guinness World Record for FPV quad-copter ground speed, set by the Drone Racing League (DRL).

Notable Developments

  • 2017: APC propellers are used in the Drone Racing League’s Guinness World Record-setting FPV quad-copter ground speed run.
  • Ongoing: Continued expansion of multi-rotor propeller sizes and designs, applying the company’s core precision composite manufacturing approach (originally developed for fixed-wing RC propellers) to the drone/multicopter market.

Key People / Key Organizations

  • Fred Burgdorf — Founder, Landing Products/APC Propellers (1989). LinkedIn: not found.

People — Last Reviewed: 2026-07-15

Sources

  • About - APC Propellers — company founding, product materials and manufacturing location, size range, DRL Guinness World Record reference
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