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Aviation History
1958
1958 - 0082.PDF
84 FLIGHT, 17 January 1958 Progress Report on the Aerocar Roadability in Being A BASIC obstacle to an active light-aircraft movement inthis country is the deservedly maligned British weather.Forgetting for the moment the lack of suitable cheap aircraft; and the obstructions caused by official regulations—which it is current fashion to blame for all the ills of British private flying—the story of the weekend flight to a destination 100 or 200 miles away, grounding by bad weather, and a delayed return journey, is an all-too-familiar one. Delays of this kind, and those due to the lack of convenient aerodrome-town transport, arc of course not confined to this country. It is in the U.S.A. that most efforts to overcome these problems have been made, and one approach is that of the roadable aircraft, or flying automobile. During the last 13 years, many variations on this theme have been produced. The most thoroughly proved ground /air vehicle of this type, and one which has triggered much renewed interest in the U.S.A. recently, is the Aerocar two-seat flying automobile produced by M. B. (Molt) Taylor, of Longview, Washington. Five Acrocars have been built; well over 1,000 hours of flight time has been Molt Taylor's Aerocar was the subject of renewed interest in the U.S.A. during 1957. The type is fully certificated as an aircraft (above) and as a car (left); five have been built. logged; and one of the machines has achieved over 50,000 miles of road operation. The type has been flying for over seven years, and has received full C.A.A. type certification as an aircraft and also certification for road use in the U.S.A. The principle of operation of the Aerocar is well shown in the photographs. For road use, the car (or front-fuselage) section is driven either by itself or with the remainder of the aircraft folded to form a towed trailer. Assembly of the aircraft prior to flying can be performed by one person in less than ten minutes. The powerplant is a four-cylinder Lycoming O-320 which delivers an effective 135 h.p. to the propeller in flight or 40 h.p. to the wheels when on the road. Molt Taylor emphasizes that the Aerocar is an automobile which flies rather than aircraft which is roadable. Ensuring com- plete compatibility for the dual usage was a "terrific problem," but both C.A.A. and road licensing authorities have now given unrestricted approval of the type. The Aerocar's gross weight has recently been increased from 1,950 to 2,100 1b, and future models will include fuel tankage for 40 gallons, giving a cruising range of 450 miles. Another current development is that of higher-powered models of the Lycoming engine—the 160 h.p. O-340 and the 170 h.p. O-360, which are low-compression units not requiring high- octane fuel. This has proved desirable to cover cases of Aerocars needing refuelling at automobile petrol stations when out of range of airfields. Driving characteristics of the two-seat Aerocar have been com- pared to those of a Porsche sports car. Flight characteristics are said to be "sweet," and to compare favourably with those of conventional light aircraft of similar weight and power, and the company is indeed building a prototype "all-flying" version which will not be roadable. By eliminating the automobile components, a four-seater aircraft at the same gross weight will be achieved. This machine will incorporate a tricycle undercarriage, with (Concluded at foot of page 86) The Lycoming engine (above) delivers an effective 135 h.p. in flight via a "dry fluid" drive and torque converter to the propeller transmission, and an effective 40 h.p. on the road via a four-belt drive to the lower drive- shaft. Wings and rear fuselage con- vert simply into a towed trailer (left).
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