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Airphibian, Roadable Aircraft, 1947

Successfully tested in 1947, the Airphibian was the first roadable aircraft to be certified by the Civil Aeronautics Administration. A roadable aircraft is a hybrid vehicle that combines the flying capability of an aircraft with the option of being driven as an automobile on the ground. In flight, it looked like a small airplane. For road use, its entire aft section, including the tail and wings, was detached and rested on its own small wheels. The propeller was also removed. The Airphibian was quite airworthy, and on a dare from Life magazine, inventor Robert Fulton once used it to travel from his home in Connecticut to Manhattan to attend a Broadway show. The pioneering vehicle could also fly up to 400 miles on 30 gallons of gas. Fulton blamed government regulations for making it unmarketable. Charles Lindbergh flew it 1950 and, although it was not a commercial success (financial costs of air worthiness certification forced him to relinquish control of the company, which never developed it further), it is now in the Smithsonian. Robert Edison Fulton, Jr. (April 15, 1909 - May 7, 2004) was an American inventor and adventurer. He is known for having traveled around the world on a motorcycle and for several aviation-related inventions, among his 70 patents.

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Title:

Airphibian, Roadable Aircraft, 1947

Caption:

Successfully tested in 1947, the Airphibian was the first roadable aircraft to be certified by the Civil Aeronautics Administration. A roadable aircraft is a hybrid vehicle that combines the flying capability of an aircraft with the option of being driven as an automobile on the ground. In flight, it looked like a small airplane. For road use, its entire aft section, including the tail and wings, was detached and rested on its own small wheels. The propeller was also removed. The Airphibian was quite airworthy, and on a dare from Life magazine, inventor Robert Fulton once used it to travel from his home in Connecticut to Manhattan to attend a Broadway show. The pioneering vehicle could also fly up to 400 miles on 30 gallons of gas. Fulton blamed government regulations for making it unmarketable. Charles Lindbergh flew it 1950 and, although it was not a commercial success (financial costs of air worthiness certification forced him to relinquish control of the company, which never developed it further), it is now in the Smithsonian. Robert Edison Fulton, Jr. (April 15, 1909 - May 7, 2004) was an American inventor and adventurer. He is known for having traveled around the world on a motorcycle and for several aviation-related inventions, among his 70 patents.

Personalities:

ROBERT FULTON

Credit:

Album / Science Source / New York Public Library

Releases:

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Image size:

3600 x 2811 px | 29.0 MB

Print size:

30.5 x 23.8 cm | 12.0 x 9.4 in (300 dpi)

Keywords:

1947 • 20 XX TWENTIETH CENTURY • 20TH CENTURY • 20TH • AERONAUT • AERONAUTICAL • AERONAUTICS • AIR TRAFFIC • AIRPHIBIAN • APPLIED SCIENCE • AUTO • AUTOMOBILE • AVIATION • BIZARRE • BW • CAR • CONVERTIBLE • CREEPY • DESIGN • EERIE • ENGINEERING • FLYING AIRCRAFT • FULTON • FUTURISTIC • HIGHWAY • HISTORIC • HISTORICAL • HISTORY • HYBRID VEHICLE • HYBRID • INVENTION • MACHINE MANUFACTURING • MACHINE • MECHANICAL ENGINEERING • ODD • PECULIAR • PHOTO • PHOTOGRAPH • QUIRKY • ROADABLE AIRCRAFT • ROBERT EDISON FULTON • ROBERT FULTON • SCARY • SCIENCE • STRANGE • TECHNOLOGICAL • TECHNOLOGY • TRAFFIC • TRANSPORTATION • TWENTIETH CENTURY • UNUSUAL • VEHICLE • WACKY • WEIRD