"[6][7][8] The company began in 1928 in a small shop on Howell Street, in West Dayton, Ohio, with about 18 workers.

[7][8] In 1947, McCauley developed the first all-metal propeller for light aircraft (such as single-engine Cessnas and Piper Cubs) — a fixed-pitch prop using the trade name "MET-L-PROP.

It was operating in a 160,000 sq ft (15,000 m2) Dayton factory, employing 230 workers, with an annual sales volume of about US$5 million.

[11][12] By 1982, in addition to propellers, spinners and governors, the company was also producing wheels, brakes, and other accessories for aircraft.

[13] In 1996, after Congress passed, and President Clinton signed, the General Aviation Revitalization Act, which limited aircraft manufacturers' product liability, Cessna resumed production of propeller-driven aircraft, using McCauley propellers, boosting McCauley sales.

[13] Founder Ernest G. McCauley, "a foremost pioneer in the aircraft propeller industry," according to the National Air and Space Museum, held numerous patents on controllable propellers, and was rewarded for the outstanding service which he provided to the United States government from 1918 to 1950.

Cessna's director of operations administration, Keith Kerschen, took control of McCauley, pending a permanent replacement.