Fulton Airphibian
The Fulton FA-2 Airphibian was an American automobile-airplane manufactured in 1946.
Designed by Robert Edison Fulton, Jr., it was an aluminum-bodied car, built with independent suspension, aircraft-sized wheels, and a six-cylinder 165hp engine. The fabric wings were easily attached to the fuselage, converting the car into a plane. Four prototypes were built and approved as Experimental by the FAA. The craft made its debut in November 1946 at Danbury, Connecticut, and they were built in Danbury by Fulton and Frazer Dougherty.[1] Financial concerns forced Fulton to sell to a company that never developed it.[2]
Design
The Airphibian took the approach of converting from an aircraft to a roadable vehicle by a conversion process that left aircraft sections behind durring road use. The process consisted of removing a 3 bladed prop and placing on hook on side of fuselage, cranking down support casters, and disengaging lock levers connecting the flight unit to road unit. The wing and aft fuselage are detached for road use.[3]
Survivors
In the mid-1990s, one of the surviving Airphibians was restored by Fulton III, along with David Dumas and Deborah Hanson. It is currently located at the Canada Aviation Museum in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada in their main display hall.[citation needed]
See also
References
- ^ "Fulton's Folly, New Version". - TIME. - November 18, 1946. - Retrieved: 2008-06-15
- ^ Martin, Douglas. - New York/Region: "Robert E. Fulton Jr., an Intrepid Inventor, Is Dead at 95". - New York Times. - May 11, 2004. - Retrieved: 2008-06-15
- ^ Harry Ziesloff (Feb 1957). "The Roadable Airplane". Experimenter.
External links
- What Its Like To Fly A Car detailed July 1952 Popular Science article
- Fulton Airphibian
- www.Airphibian.com - a website dedicated to the people who designed, built and tested the Airphibian
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