Speaking of strange hybrids... ever heard of the Taylor Aerocar? We were fascinated by them during our early years. Built by an American entrepreneur named Moult Taylor after World War II, the Aerocar was a road-ready automobile that could be converted into an airworthy airplane by attaching a set of wings. The Wikipedia sketches out the rest of the tale:
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.
As one might expect, the engineering compromises required to create a car that could fly and a plane that could drive meant that Aerocars suffered from a variation of the Mermaid Problem — that is, with a mermaid, when you want a fish you get a woman, and when you want a woman you get a fish. Awwwwkward.
Much like mermaids, Aerocars may not be practical, but they continue to fascinate. The second of the six Aerocars, tail number N103D, built in 1956, is now for sale, and via eBay, no less. Fidel Castro's brother Raúl once flew this vehicle around Cuba, and it later logged more than 1000 hours in the air doing traffic reports for KISN above Portland, Oregon. The bidding on eBay starts at $3.5 million, and the buyer is responsible for transporting the vehicle from Grand Junction, Colorado. Fly or drive — it's your choice.
(Tip of the flight cap to Dr. MOZ)
LINKS:
Aerocar N103D Flying Plane Car Single Engine Auto Fly (eBay Auction listing, expires 16 December, 2008)
This excellent newsreel from the early 1950s shows an Aerocar taking off from San Francisco International Airport:
This contemporary video has a Spanish narration, but it shows Aerocar No. 4 on the road, transitioning for flight, and in the air:
PREVIOUSLY:
It's an Amphicar! It's an Amphicar!
An Amphicar Sighting in New Jersey
(IMAGES: Photos of N103D from aerocarforsale.com)
No, they weren't built by "American entrepreneur named Robert E. Fulton"
They were built by Moult Taylor:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moulton_Taylor
That's why they called them *Taylor* Aerocars, ne?
Posted by: Maggie Leber | 10 December 2008 at 11:45 AM
Ooof. That's it -- no more huffing model airplane glue while writing up these blog posts. We mean it this time.
Thanks for highlighting what should have been obvious, and the text has been corrected above.
Posted by: Telstar Logistics | 10 December 2008 at 01:43 PM
But does it float? Does it dive? Can you use it to bore beneath the surface of the earth? And can you dock your iPod? That's when I buy!
Posted by: Brian Floca | 11 December 2008 at 12:27 PM
If the Aerocar was pulling a boat on a trailer, with a Vespa attached, equipped with a bike rack ...I'd buy it.
Posted by: Jason | 13 December 2008 at 08:00 PM
was this the car that the actor robert cummings advertised in the 50's?
Posted by: ultimus gimp | 10 January 2009 at 07:55 PM
holy crap!! what kinda MPG does that car get?? (like it even matters) a flying car is so badass, I would love to be able to do that. Does this mean that you can take off from the highway?
Posted by: gamescar | 13 January 2009 at 05:01 PM
Hi,
This is alora.The above photos are so nice.flying car is so quite and i would like that one.Really i like this website and also propose to my friends to go through this website.
=============
annika
MLS listings
Posted by: gracy | 16 January 2009 at 09:11 PM
This was featured in 2008 on a BBC program hosted by James May, called Big Ideas...
Posted by: Derek Lies | 17 March 2009 at 07:31 AM
So one could say that this is the first flying car??? This is just unbelievable, I if they had to manufacture these for the public I know that I would get one, anything to deal with the huge amounts of traffic jams.
Posted by: Sue | Vehicle Financing | 05 August 2009 at 02:46 AM
So they were thinking and making these flying cars even back then, its amazing, and would be even better if they really manufacture red these for everyone to have the option to buy them, say goodbye to traffic jams, accidents and road rage.
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Posted by: generic viagra | 07 January 2010 at 09:42 AM
i tried this with some 2x4s and some cardboard
didnt work to well
Posted by: Residential Tanning Beds | 14 January 2010 at 04:01 PM
Kind of ridiculous that a newer car
http://news.bostonherald.com/business/technology/general/view/20220405jetsons_car_wings_way_into_auto_show_spotlight/srvc=home&position=also
which probably is safer, and has more upgrades is less than one tenth the price what the seller of this car wants, but I guess there always will be people with too much money and rather than helping mankind, they prefer to spend it whims and wants (the millions billionaires spend on going to space or for a single painting!)
Well, I guess you can say for that that you can't say for the newer one, you know that this one lasts a long time!
Posted by: Evagoblog | 05 April 2012 at 11:34 AM