Pie-in-the-Sky Flying Cars From the Past

Wizards and tinkerers have labored to make cars fly since the early 20th century, with mixed results. Some designs had detachable wings and tail ends for highway cruising; others used mechanisms to fold the wings for driving. Here is sampling of some noteworthy creations: 

CURTISS AUTOPLANE, 1911 Glenn Curtiss, a pioneer in aviation and motorcycles, used a 100-horsepower engine of his own design in his three-seat Autoplane, which used a pusher propeller for flying and road use, along with steerable front wheels. It featured removable wings and tail, an aluminum body and a cabin heater. Financial backers could not be found, and the prototype performed only short hops, never a sustained flight.

FULTON AIRPHIBIAN, 1946 Robert Edison Fulton Jr., an architect, built four Airphibians. The lightweight fabric wings and the rear fuselage were detachable and left behind during highway use. The Airphibian became the first flying car to receive government certification as an aircraft in 1950, when Charles Lindbergh flew one. Fulton flew and drove his Airphibians extensively, but the venture fizzled for financial reasons.

TAYLOR AEROCAR, 1949 The Taylor Aerocar went into low-volume production, and the surviving prototype resides in the Experimental Aircraft Association museum in Oshkosh. The designer, Moulton Taylor, rejected Robert Fulton’s idea of using removable wings and fashioned folding mechanisms for his machine, which attained government certification as an aircraft. It sold for $25,000 and cruised at 100 m.p.h. using a 150-horsepower Lycoming engine.

ADVANCED VEHICLE ENGINEERS MIZAR, 1971-73 Henry Smolinksi, an aeronautical engineer, built a pair of these drivable aircraft. The Mizar was a wild mash-up of the wings, tail and rear engine of a Cessna Skymaster and a Ford Pinto. The Mizar used both a 210-horsepower Continental engine and the Pinto’s motor during the takeoff roll; the car engine was then shut off. Smolinski and an associate were killed when a prototype suffered structural failure and crashed.