Reserved for build 1: the flying Car
History:
Ever e before the first controlled Flight had occurred, Jules Verne introduced the idea in his 1904
Master of the World novel, people have been looking to combine the two. Then Ford made automobiles affordable to the common man, a "best of both worlds" seemed withing reach. In 1940, Henry Ford predicted the flying car was mere moments away. and in 1946 - the idea was proven.
since then many have tried a number of succeeded.
in 1949 the Taylor Aerocar was one of those successes with a successful flight in December 1949.
according to WIKIpedia, only 6 AeroCars were ever made.
The version I will make is modeled after this model:
N101D
1954 Taylor Aerocar Serial Number 3 registered as N101D
N101D (1954) is owned by Greg Herrick's Yellowstone Aviation Inc.
[2][4][5] It is maintained in flying condition and is on display at the Golden Wings Flying Museum located on the south west side of the
Anoka County-Blaine Airport in Minneapolis. This aircraft is featured flying overhead on the cover on the book "A Drive In the Clouds" by Jake Schultz. In December 2011, N101D was being offered for sale at an asking price of USD1.25 million.
[6]
I may however Paint it up with the scheme Detailed below.
N103D
From 1961-1963 the Aerocar was operated under contract between Star Stations (Don Burden) and Wik's Air Service, Inc. It was used as a traffic-watch (AIRWATCH) aircraft for
KISN (910AM) radio station in
Portland, Oregon where it was flown by "Scotty Wright" (Scotty Wright was the alias used by the acting pilot of the Aerocar during traffic-watch transmissions). Several pilots provided the AIRWATCH service beginning with World War II veteran pilot Guilford Wikander, President of Wik's Air Service, Inc. Guilford was followed in order by his sister Ruth Wikander, W. John Jacob III, Wayne Nutsch
[10] and Alan Maris. Scotty Wright reports Nutsch having 350 flying hours in N103D performing AIRWATCH duty. Traffic reporting was from 7:00 AM–8:30 AM and 4:30 PM–6:00 PM. During the Aerocar's AIRWATCH missions, it was painted white with red hearts
[11] and had the letters KISN on the top and bottom of the wings.
[12]
The aircraft was equipped with an emergency police/fire receiver for use in reporting emergency events on KISN radio stations broadcast. When flown for KISN it was based at Wik's Air Service,
Hillsboro Airport (HIO), Hillsboro Oregon. On one of its more eventful flights for KISN it survived the
Columbus Day Storm of 1962 without damage after its evening traffic reporting flight. Ruth Wikander was piloting the aircraft at that particular time and is credited with the successful landing during extreme wind conditions (perhaps more than 100 mph). Ruth Wikander was an active member of the 99's, the International Organization of Women Pilots. In 1962 Ruth Wikander drove the Aerocar as an automobile while trailering the wings in the annual Portland Rose Festival parade. The Aerocar was an integral part of KISN Radio and can be seen at stumptownblogger.com
[13] along with photos of famous rock musicians and KISN DJ's of the times
a billboard from the station promotions
Who else is doing trying to build and market a flying car?- Many over the years.
http://carplane.com/ or
https://www.aeromobil.com/ or
https://terrafugia.com/ are some companies with current working prototype among many others.
Flying Car Sources:
https://www.popularmechanics.com/flight/how-to/g1038/a-brief-history-of-the-flying-car/
https://techcrunch.com/2016/12/23/our-self-flying-car-future/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_car
https://www.barrett-jackson.com/Events/Event/Details/1954-TAYLOR-AEROCAR-236076
Here is a whole dissertation on the flying car and it's attempts and evolution.
https://pdhonline.com/courses/m567/m567handout.pdf
Specifications
- Crew: one
- Capacity: 1 passenger
- Length: 21 ft 6 in (6.55 m)
- Wingspan: 34 ft 0 in (10.36 m)
- Height: 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m)
- Wing area: 190 sq ft (18 m2)
- Empty weight: 1,500 lb (680 kg)
- Gross weight: 2,100 lb (953 kg)
- Fuel capacity: 23.5 gallons
- Powerplant: 1 × Lycoming O-320 air-cooled flat-four, 143 hp (107 kW)
- Propellers: 2-bladed Hartzell HA12 UF, 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) diameter
Performance
- Maximum speed: 117 mph (188 km/h, 102 kn)
- Cruise speed: 97 mph (156 km/h, 84 kn)
- Stall speed: 50 mph (80 km/h, 43 kn)
- Range: 300 mi (480 km, 260 nmi)
- Service ceiling: 12,000 ft (3,700 m)
- Rate of climb: 610 ft/min (3.1 m/s)
Model Specs
Wingspan: 48"
Length: 30"
Height: 10"
Motor: 2206 2300kv motor
ESC: 20A with BEC
Propellar: 5x4.5x5 prop.
Battery: 2-2200 mah 3S
Servos: 4 - 9g with 2 y-connector
Push rods: 0.030" MIG welding wire
Plans:
These prototype plans are based on the ones put together by Fiddler's Green paper models. I took very small versions of the image to make a rough CAD drawing and projected them onto the foam board trace the image and cut it out.
V1
If you want to build this and use the plans
HERE (Alpha Plans*),
*There is a great deal of Trimming and fitting that went into turning this car into the RC model detailed here. V2 Beta Plans are already in the works.
If you want the Operation Air Watch look, you can use these
Decal Printouts for Decoration
Based on what I learned from putting this together, is that this can be done far simpler. I am Happy with this wings.
V2
(Coming Soon)
Build:
I then started folding the models together and seeing how they came together as paper molds differently than foam board.
2/4-2/6
No it's not a helmet, this is the coop top:
Then I focused on the empanage which is where the tricky business happens.
You can see that the tail sits up in an angle and the elevators look somewhat tilted as well as you can see the v brace that I put in on the underside of the elevator.
The next question is how to get the rudder in
I then devised something thick enough to fit in the rudder itself
Mount the core:
Then put the runner on pushing it flush with the empanage
Now to add wheels, and figure out how to mount the motor, and wings.
2/16
Figured that an F-pack motor can slide of the tail with some slit adjustment. This makes it tail heavy, but sturdy and 🔏 be with the proper thrust angle (according to the drawings.) Having the motor the tail heavy. But I found 2-2200 3S puts the balance at the spar of the wing.
2/17
Put in some servos. Installed the servo horns ready. Last step is the wires. The wheel hubs are looser and roll Better
Still to do:
1. Push rod,
2. battery selection
3. Wing struts and tie downs
4. Color
2/18
Added pushrods and finished the electronics, added battery and made a model in the transmitter wing struts aren't needed by aren't a bad idea. Color after the maiden.
I taxi tested around the. Foyer. Very little rudder control on the ground.
2/19
Time for a maiden flight test. Is this worth pursuing?:
3 things before we start. It was windy. It has been raining for weeks. Rudder effect is iffy
She flew! But not long enough to see how well before the motor stopped. End result - 4 pieces.
Takeaways:
I need a V2.
in the short time I had with her in the air, it was a good flyer, I was trying to trim the elevator to Neutral when the motor and power stopped. No much to do then. It is repairable though.
But Wait...
It isn't over, as I have put it back together:
as I know it will fly... I will give it a minute to start making it pretty.
2/25-26
I spend some time this evening putting together decals and giving it some color and personality. I've chosen to mesh the Pixar planes depiction of the arrow car, and the historical personality of the radio station traffic vehicle.
Maiden Flight Success: