Roadable aircraft

The Waterman Arrowbile at the Smithsonian

Moulton Taylor's Aerocar III

A roadable aircraft (sometimes referred to as flying car) is a hybrid vehicle that combines the flying capability of an aircraft with the option of being driven as an automobile on the ground. Most roadable aircraft fall into one of two styles; integrated (all the pieces can be carried in the vehicle), or modular (the aeronautical sections are left at the airport when the vehicle is driven).

The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has shown an interest in the concept with a sixty five million dollar program called Transformer to develop a four place roadable aircraft by 2015.^[1] The vehicle is required to take off vertically, and have a 280 mile range. AAI Corporation and Lockheed Martin were awarded contracts in late 2010 for the Phase 1 program.^[2] Lockheed Martin's design was selected to continue to Phase 3.^[3]

In April 2012, the International Flying Car Association was established to be the "central resource center for information and communication between the flying car industry, news networks, governments, and those seeking further information worldwide."^[4]

History

Curtiss Autoplane

Autogiro Company of America AC-35

Hafner Rotabuggy

Glenn Curtiss, the chief rival of the Wright brothers, was the first to design a roadable aircraft. His large, three-wing Curtiss Autoplane was able to hop, not fly.^[5]

The Autogiro Company of America AC-35 was an early attempt at a roadable aircraft. On March 26, 1936 the AC-35 was flown by test pilot James G. Ray with counter rotating propellers. These were later replaced with a single conventional propeller arrangement. On October 2, 1936, Ray landed the AC-35 in a downtown park in Washington, D.C. where it was displayed, On October 26, 1936 The aircraft was converted to roadable configuration.^[6] Ray drove it to the main entrance of the Commerce Building where it was accepted by John H. Geisse, chief of the Aeronautics Branch. Although it was successfully tested, it did not enter production.

The first roadable fixedwing aircraft actually to fly was built by Waldo Waterman. Waterman was associated with Curtiss while Curtiss was pioneering naval aviator on North Island on San Diego Bay in the 1910s. On March 21, 1937, Waterman's Arrowbile first took to the air.^[7] The Arrowbile was a development of Waterman's tailless aircraft, the Whatsit.^[8] It had a wingspan of 38 feet (11 m) and a length of 20 feet 6 inches (6.25 m). On the ground and in the air it was powered by a Studebaker engine. It could fly at 112 mph (180 km/h) and drive at 56 mph (90 km/h).

In 1942, the British army built the Hafner Rotabuggy, an experimental roadable autogyro that was developed with the intention of producing a way of air-dropping off-road vehicles. Although initial tests showed that the Rotabuggy was prone to severe vibration at speeds greater than 45 miles per hour (72 km/h), with improvements the Rotabuggy achieved a flight speed of 70 mph (113 km/h). However, the introduction of gliders that could carry vehicles (such as the Waco Hadrian and Airspeed Horsa) made the Rotabuggy superfluous and further development was cancelled.^[9]

Although several designs (such as the ConVairCar) have flown, none have enjoyed commercial success, and those that have flown are not widely known about by the general public. The most successful example, in that several were made and one is still flying, is the 1949 Taylor Aerocar. One notable design, Henry Smolinski's Mizar, made by mating the rear end of a Cessna Skymaster with a Ford Pinto, disintegrated during test flights, killing Smolinski and the pilot.

List of historical roadable aircraft

Jess Dixon's flying automobile c. 1940

Fulton Airphibian FA-3-101

The Mizar by Advanced Vehicle Engineers, August 1973

Current development examples

A number of companies are developing vehicles, although few have demonstrated a full-sized vehicle capable of free flight.

Parajet Skycar prototype seen at the Sport and Leisure Aviation Show (SPLASH), Birmingham, UK, November 2008.

Terrafugia Transition

Super Sky Cycle

Maverick Flying Dune Buggy

Plane Driven PD-1 Roadable Glastar

Flying

• The Parajet Skycar utilises a paramotor for propulsion and a parafoil for lift. The main body consists of a modified dune buggy. It has a top speed of 80 mph (130 km/h) and a maximum range of 180 miles (290 km) in flight. On the ground it has a top speed of 112 mph (180 km/h) and a maximum range of 249 miles (401 km). Parajet flew and drove its prototype from London to Timbuktu in January 2009.
• The Terrafugia Transition is under development by a private company founded by MIT graduates.^[10] It is a roadable aircraft that the company describes as a "Personal Air Vehicle". The aircraft can fold its wings in 30 seconds and drive the front wheels, enabling it to operate as a traditional road vehicle and as a general aviation aeroplane. The company planned to release its Transition "Personal Air Vehicle" to customers in late 2011. An operational prototype was displayed at Oshkosh in 2008^[11] and its first flight occurred on 2009-03-05.^[12] Owners will drive the car from their garage to an airport where they will then be able to fly within a range of 500 mi (800 km). It will carry two people plus luggage and its Rotax 912S engine operates on premium unleaded gas.^[13] It was approved by the FAA in June 2010,^[14] and its anticipated base purchase price is $279,000.^[15]
• Super Sky Cycle is an American homebuilt roadable gyroplane designed and manufactured by The Butterfly Aircraft LLC.^[16][17] It is a registered motorcycle^[18]
• PAL-V ONE is a hybrid of a gyrocopter with a leaning 3-wheel motorcycle. It has two seats and a 160 kW flight certified gasoline engine. It has a top speed of 180 km/h (112 mph) on land and in air, and weighs 910 kg max.^[19][20]
• The Maverick Flying Dune Buggy was designed by the Indigenous People's Technology and Education Center as an off-road vehicle that could unfurl an advanced parachute and then travel by air over impassable terrain when roadways were no longer usable. Designed by the Indigenous People’s Technology and Education Center (I-TEC) of Florida, a Christian ministry, the 1100-pound 'Maverick' vehicle is powered by a 128 hp (95 kW) engine that can also drive a five-bladed pusher propeller. It was initially conceived of in order to help minister to remote Amazon rainforest communities, but will also be marketed for visual pipeline inspection and other similar activities in desolate areas or difficult terrain.^[21]
• The Plane Driven PD-1 Roadable Glastar is a modification to the Glastar Sportsman GS-2 to make a practical roadable aircraft. The approach is novel in that it uses a mostly stock aircraft with a modified landing gear "pod" that carries the engine for road propulsion. The wings fold along the side, and the main landing gear and engine pod slide aft in driving configuration to compensate for the rearward center of gravity with the wings folded, and provide additional stability for road travel.^[22][23]
• The Aeromobil 2.5 has folding wings and a Rotax 912 engine. It can travel at 200 kilometres per hour (124 mph) with a range of 690 kilometres (430 mi), and flew for the first time in 2013.^[24][25]

Partially flying

• The Scaled Composites Model 367 BiPod is a developmental hybrid using joined fuselages, and twin combustion engines powering four 15 kW electric propellers.

Road functional, or scale models flying

• LaBiche Aerospace's LaBiche FSC-1^[26] is a developmental prototype Flying Car and is an example of a practical flying car capable of utilizing today's automotive and aviation infrastructure to provide true "door-to-door" travel^{[citation needed]}. The vehicle can be parked in any garage or parking space available for cars. The FSC-1 is the first known vehicle capable of automatic conversion from aircraft to car at the touch of a button. LaBiche has flown a 1/10 scale model, tested a ¼-scale model and is currently finishing the FSC-1 prototype for road and air testing, as of 2006. Currently, the FSC-1 requires a pilot and driver's license to operate. However, upon approval from the FAA, development is underway for utilizing a new satellite-navigation "hands free" flight system to travel from airport to airport that will eliminate the need for a pilot's license^{[citation needed]}. Numerous safety systems and fail safes are also employed on the FSC-1, such as a recovery parachute. No news has been added to the website since December, 2010.
• The Haynes Aero Skyblazer^[27] is a development stage vehicle that uses a single turbofan engine to provide thrust in the air and to generate electricity to power electric motors for ground travel. In "car mode", a patented mechanism allows the wings to fold into the body of the vehicle, which is designed to fit into a single car garage and regular parking space. In "aircraft mode" the vehicle will have STOL capabilities and be able to use almost any public use airfield. It is expected to have a top speed of 400 mph (640 km/h) and a range of 830 miles (1,340 km). The skyblazer team has completed wind tunnel, stability and control testing and flown a 1/6 scale model.
• The Samson Switchblade,^[28] by Samson Motorworks is a three-wheel concept with scissor wings. First introduced at AirVenture 2009, the Switchblade is to utilize a single motorcycle engine and ducted fan to keep the propeller out of harm's way on the ground. The wheels and propeller are to be powered by the same engine, but wheel-power only to be utilized on the ground. Development is ongoing at Swift Engineering of San Clemente, California. A predicted top speed of 100 mph (160 km/h) on the ground is nearly as fast as the anticipated 160 mph (260 km/h) in the air. No parts are left at the airport after conversion from aircraft to ground vehicle, as the main wing and tail assembly retracts into the vehicle body.^[29][30] As of 22/01/2013, the team has also completed flight testing of a 1/4 scale model and are progressing onto building a full-scale remote controlled model.^[31]

Concepts

• The Aerocar 2000 was a modular design developed in the early 2000s but never built.

In popular culture

• Actor Bob Cummings owned one of four Aerocar I's, and the car appeared on his television show,^[32] The New Bob Cummings Show, 1961—1962.
• The 1974 James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun portrayed the villain escaping in a 1974 AMC Matador with a jet engine and wings mounted to the roof.
• In 2005, Monster Garage's hoster Jesse James built a roadable aircraft by combining an old Cessna with a Panoz Esperante.

See also

• Flying car (fiction)
• Future car technologies
• Personal air vehicle
• Comparison of personal air vehicles
• CarterCopter
• Intermodal passenger transport

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Flying automobiles (aircraft).

• Roadable Times, pictures and descriptions of over 70 designs of flying cars and roadable aircraft past and present.
• Waterman Aerobile at the Smithsonian
• Terrafugia Transition video on TED

v t e Flying cars and roadable aircraft Roadable aircraft 20th-century Aerauto PL.5C Aerocar ACA AC-35 AVE Mizar Bryan Autoplane Convair Model 116 Convair Model 118 Curtiss Autoplane Fulton Airphibian Gwinn Aircar Hordern-Richmond Autoplane Skroback Roadable Airplane Wagner Aerocar Waterman Arrowbile 21st-century DARPA TX Haynes Aero Skyblazer I-TEC Maverick Klein Aeromobil LaBiche FSC-1 PAL-V ONE Parajet Skycar Plane Driven PD-1 Roadable Glastar Samson Switchblade Scaled Composites Model 367 BiPod Terrafugia Transition Flying cars 20th-century Chrysler VZ-6 Curtiss-Wright VZ-7 Piasecki VZ-8 Airgeep Aeromobil 1.0 21st-century SkyRider X2R Moller M400 Skycar Terrafugia TF-X Urban Aeronautics X-Hawk Related topics Hovercar Jet pack Personal air vehicle (comparisons) Winged tank AVCEN Jetpod