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One of the first uses of aluminum in rotor blades was in the Hiller XH-44 “Hiller-copter”, designed and built by Stanley Hiller, Jr. (1924–2006) in 1944 at the age of nineteen. A 1:8 scale model of a Hiller XH-44 is shown here. Prior helicopter rotor blade designs, such as on the Sikorsky VS-300, were primarily constructed of wood and had a slight amount of flexibility. The XH-44 featured two rigid, counter-rotating rotor blades designed to cancel out the torque caused by a single main rotor, which in turn eliminated the need for a tail rotor to counteract the spinning of the helicopter. They required the rigidity of aluminum in order to prevent contact at high revolutions, potentially causing severe damage to both. By the 1960s, most helicopter rotors were made out of aluminum, often combined with other materials. In recent decades, helicopter rotors have been constructed of composite materials. "Aluminum: The Miracle Metal of Aviation" is on display, pre-security, in the Aviation Museum and Library in the International Terminal. http://bit.ly/AviationAluminum This image was posted on April 25, 2019.

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This post mentions the following things involved with the SFO Museum collection:

Aluminum: The Miracle Metal of Aviation
This aviation exhibition was on display between March 2019 and 2017~ in the AML Aviation Museum Gallery 01 gallery, located in International Terminal
Aluminum: The Miracle Metal of Aviation
This aviation exhibition was on display between 2017~ and July 2019 in the AML Aviation Museum Gallery 01 gallery, located in International Terminal