1917 Curtiss
Autoplane.
Fourteen years after the Wright brothers managed their
historic flight, fellow American aircraft pioneer Glen Curtiss came up with the
first-ever car that could fly. Sort of. With its wings removed, this
aluminum-bodied hybrid could do 70km/h on the road, but unfortunately actual
flight was a problem… a few short hops was all it could manage.
1937 Waterman Aerobile
This one actually flew. The high-wing monoplane on
three wheels was powered by a 100bhp Studebaker engine could haul itself off
the ground and buzz around thanks to a propeller attached to the rear of the
vehicle. Understandably, there weren’t too many people willing to risk their
lives in this contraption and a distinct lack of customers killed it off.
1946 Fulton
Airphibian
Robert Fulton started from the other end. Instead
of a car the flies, he designed an airplane that also drove. Apparently, once
you’d landed, it only took five minutes to unscrew the prop and undo the tail
before driving off at 80km/h. Significantly, this was the first-ever flying car
to be certified by the USA’s Federal Aviation Authority.
1949 Taylor
Aerocar
Flying cars enjoyed something of a golden age
during the optimistic post-war years, but none enjoyed any commercial success.
Except this one built by Moulton Taylor. After getting its FAA certification in
1956, Moulton built and sold six of these flying planes, with one still in the
regularly flying as late as 2006. A man in Minneapolis, USA, is currently
selling his 1954 Aerocar for R10.2-million if you’re interested.
1973 AVE Mizar
After a decade in the doldrums, the idea of a
flying car again entered public consciousness with this effort. A true hybrid,
mating the rear section of a Cessna Skymaster to a Ford Pinto, the Mizar (named
after a star) showed some promise. Tragically, the prototype’s build quality
wasn’t quite up to aviation standards and a failed wing strut caused a fiery
crash that killed its creator Henry Smolinski.
As appeared in the Sept 2012 issue of the Kulula inflight mag.
