Aerocar
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- For other vehicles named Aerocar and Aero Car, see Aero Car.
Aerocar International's Aerocar (often called the Taylor Aerocar) was an American roadable aircraft, designed and built by Moulton Taylor in 1949. It is the most successful and probably the most famous "flying car" design to date, convertible into flight mode in five minutes by attaching a pusher propeller and wings. On the road, the wings and tail unit were designed to be towed behind the vehicle. Aerocars can drive up to 60 miles per hour[1] and have a top airspeed of 110 miles per hour[2]. Civil certification was gained in 1956, and Taylor reached a deal with Ling-Temco-Vought for serial production on the proviso that he was able to attract 500 orders. When he was able to only find half that number of buyers, plans for production ended, and only six examples were built, with one still flying as of 2006 and another rebuilt by Taylor into the only Aerocar III.
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[edit] The six models
There are four Aerocar I's, one Aerocar II, and one Aerocar I that was rebuilt as an Aerocar III.
[edit] N4994P
N4994P (1949, originally N31214) is yellow with silver wings[3]. It was the very first Aerocar. It is in the EAA AirVenture Museum.[4][1]
[edit] N101D
N101D (1954) is owned by a man in Wyoming.[4][1][5]
[edit] N102D
N102D (1960) is yellow and blue (See above image). [3] It was the last Aerocar built and is the only one still flying. It is owned by Ed Sweeney. It was previously owned by actor Bob Cummings and it appeared on his television show.[1]
Inspired by this vehicle, Ed Sweeney is currently developing the Aerocar 2000 via his Aerocar firm.
[edit] N103D
N103D (1956) is red with red wings. It has been owned by a couple in Colorado for 25 years and was put up for sale in September 2006 with an asking price of $3.5 million. It once flew Fidel Castro's brother Raul Castro, ran out of fuel, and was damaged in the emergency landing. It also was a traffic-watch plane for a radio station. It was last flown in 1977 and is no longer airworthy.[1][4]
[edit] N107D (Aerocar II)
N107D (1966) is an Aerocar Aero-Plane, or Aerocar II.[6] It is not a roadable aircraft but is based on the original Aerocar design. Only a single example was built. It is owned by a man in Colorado.[1]
[edit] N4345F (Aerocar III)
The 6th Aerocar (N4345F) is red with silver wings. It was the final flying car effort by Moulton Taylor. The vehicle began life as one of the original Aerocars, but Taylor bought it back from a customer after it had been damaged in an accident on the ground in the 1960s. From there, he considerably re-built it as the Aerocar III, replacing the original cabin with a sleeker, more streamlined one (although it still fell far short of the sporty lines that Taylor had originally wanted to give it). Taylor was able to attract some interest from Ford, but ultimately, no production resulted. The single prototype is now displayed at Seattle's Museum of Flight.[7]
[edit] Aerocar I & III Specifications
[edit] Aerocar I[edit] Characteristics
[edit] Performance
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[edit] Aerocar III[edit] Characteristics
[edit] Performance
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[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f Seattle Times: Tired of the commute? All you need is $3.5 million, September 2006
- ^ Antique Automobile Club of America: Cars that fly… Cars that float
- ^ a b FOTO-PAAKS catalog (PDF)
- ^ a b c EAA AirVenture Museum: Taylor Aerocar - N4994P
- ^ airport-data.com: Aircraft N101D Profile
- ^ airport-data.com: Aircraft N107D Profile
- ^ Museum of Flight: Aerocar III
[edit] See also
- Aerocar Coot, a two-seat amphibious aircraft designed for home-building by Moulton Taylor
[edit] Related development
- Aerocar Aero-Plane, the Aerocar II
- Aerocar 2000, a new roadable aircraft concept being developted by Aerocar (Colorado)
[edit] Comparable aircraft
- Fulton Airphibian
[edit] External links
- EAA AirVenture Museum's Aerocar
- Text from Aviation Week Match 27, 1961
- Tired of the commute? All you need is $3.5 million - Aerocar for sale in September 2006
