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{{Infobox aircraft
[[Image:Fulton Airphibian FA-3-101.jpg|right|thumb|Fulton Airphibian FA-3-101]]
|name = Airphibian
|image = File:Fulton Airphibian FA-3-101.jpg
|caption =
|type = [[Roadable aircraft]]
|manufacturer = Continental Inc
|designer = [[Robert Edison Fulton, Jr.]]
|first_flight =
|introduction = [[1946 in aviation|1946]]
|retired =
|number_built = 4
|primary_user =
|status =
|unit cost =
|variants =
}}


The '''Fulton FA-2 Airphibian''' was an [[United States|American]] automobile-airplane manufactured in 1946.
The '''Fulton FA-2 Airphibian''' is an American [[roadable aircraft]] manufactured in 1946.


==Development==
Designed by [[Robert Edison Fulton, Jr.]], it was an [[aluminum]]-bodied car, built with independent suspension, aircraft-sized wheels, and a six-[[cylinder (engine)|cylinder]] 165[[horsepower|hp]] 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 [[Federal Aviation Administration|FAA]]. The craft made its debut in November 1946 at [[Danbury, Connecticut]], and they were built in Danbury by Fulton and Frazer Dougherty.<ref name=TIME-1946-11-18>[http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,777344,00.html "Fulton's Folly, New Version"]. - ''[[Time (magazine)|TIME]]''. - November 18, 1946. - Retrieved: 2008-06-15</ref> Financial concerns forced Fulton to sell to a company that never developed it.<ref name=MartinD-NYT-2004-05-11>Martin, Douglas. - New York/Region: [http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/11/nyregion/11FULT.html?ei=5070&en=85157278fee14319&ex=1213675200&pagewanted=print&position= "Robert E. Fulton Jr., an Intrepid Inventor, Is Dead at 95"]. - ''[[New York Times]]''. - May 11, 2004. - Retrieved: 2008-06-15</ref>


Designed by [[Robert Edison Fulton Jr.]], it was an [[aluminum]]-bodied car, built with independent suspension, aircraft-sized wheels, and a six-[[cylinder (engine)|cylinder]] 165&nbsp;[[horsepower|hp]] engine. The [[fabric]] wings were easily attached to the [[fuselage]], converting the car into a plane. Four prototypes were built.
==Design==


In December 1950, the [[Civil Aeronautics Administration (United States)|Civil Aeronautics Administration]] (CAA) (later to become the [[Federal Aviation Administration|FAA]]) certified one of the prototypes and gave it an 1A11 Aircraft Specification, N74104.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://airphibian.com/FAASpecs.htm |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2012-01-05 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309062143/http://www.airphibian.com/FAASpecs.htm |archivedate=2012-03-09 }}</ref> Lou Achitoff, was the CAA test pilot.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://airphibian.com/Danbury2.htm |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2012-01-05 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120224141032/http://www.airphibian.com/Danbury2.htm |archivedate=2012-02-24 }}</ref> The N74154 is the aircraft that is today in the main building of the [[National Air and Space Museum]] in Washington, DC, having previously been on display in the [[Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center]].
The Airphibian took the approach of converting from an aircraft to a roadable vehicle by a conversion process that left aircraft sections behind during 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.<ref>{{cite journal|magazine=Experimenter|title=The Roadable Airplane|author=Harry Ziesloff|date=Feb 1957}}</ref>

The craft made its debut in November 1946 at [[Danbury, Connecticut]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://airphibian.com/Danbury.htm|title=Danbury}}</ref> Financial concerns forced Fulton to sell to a company that never developed it.<ref name=MartinD-NYT-2004-05-11>Martin, Douglas. - New York/Region: [https://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/11/nyregion/11FULT.html?ei=5070&en=85157278fee14319&ex=1213675200&pagewanted=print&position= "Robert E. Fulton Jr., an Intrepid Inventor, Is Dead at 95"]. - ''[[New York Times]]''. - May 11, 2004. - Retrieved: 2008-06-15</ref>

==Design==
The Airphibian took the approach of converting from an aircraft to a roadable vehicle by a conversion process that left aircraft sections behind during road use. The process consisted of removing a three-bladed propeller and placing it on a hook on the side of the fuselage, cranking down support casters, and disengaging lock levers connecting the flight unit to the road unit. The wing and aft fuselage are detached for road use.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Experimenter|title=The Roadable Airplane|author=Harry Ziesloff|date=Feb 1957}}</ref>


==Survivors==
==Survivors==
In the mid-1990s, one of the surviving Airphibians was restored by Fulton III, along with David Dumas and Deborah Hanson. Later, it was put on display for several years at the [[Canada Aviation Museum]] in [[Ottawa]], [[Ontario]], Canada in their main display hall, but in 2009 it moved to the [[Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center]] (annex of the [[National Air and Space Museum]]).<ref>{{cite web|title=Collections — Fulton Airphibian FA-3-101|url=http://www.nasm.si.edu/collections/artifact.cfm?id=A19600127000|accessdate=26 September 2011}}</ref> Since 2022 it has been on display in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fulton Airphibian FA-3-101 {{!}} National Air and Space Museum |url=https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/fulton-airphibian-fa-3-101/nasm_A19600127000 |access-date=2022-11-02 |website=airandspace.si.edu |language=en}}</ref>


==Specifications==
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.{{Fact|date=June 2008}}
{{Aircraft specs
|ref=Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1951–52,<ref name="jawa51 p240c">Bridgman 1951, p. 240c.</ref> Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum<ref name="smithshort">[http://airandspace.si.edu/collections/artifact.cfm?id=A19600127000 "Fulton Airphibian FA-3-101"]. ''Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum''. Retrieved August 31, 2013.</ref>
|prime units?=imp<!-- "imp", "kts" or "met" to display the units in a given order.
Without an entry here, no specifications will show -->
<!--
General characteristics
-->
|genhide=

|crew=2
|capacity=
|length m=
|length ft=22
|length in=2
|span m=
|span ft=34
|span in=
|height m=
|height ft=7
|height in=8
|wing area sqm=
|wing area sqft=
|empty weight kg=
|empty weight lb=1500
|gross weight kg=
|gross weight lb=2100
|fuel capacity=
<!--
Powerplant
-->
|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=
|eng1 type=
|eng1 kw=<!-- prop engines -->
|eng1 hp=<!-- prop engines -->
|eng1 shp=<!-- prop engines -->
|eng1 kn=<!-- jet/rocket engines -->
|eng1 lbf=<!-- jet/rocket engines -->
|eng1 kn-ab=<!-- afterburners -->
|eng1 lbf-ab=<!-- afterburners -->

|prop blade number=<!-- propeller aircraft -->
|prop name=
|prop dia m=<!-- propeller aircraft -->
|prop dia ft=<!-- propeller aircraft -->
|prop dia in=<!-- propeller aircraft -->

<!--
Performance
-->
|perfhide=

|max speed kmh=
|max speed mph=120
|max speed kts=
|max speed mach=<!-- supersonic aircraft -->
|cruise speed kmh=<!-- if max speed unknown -->
|cruise speed mph=110<!-- if max speed unknown -->
|cruise speed kts=
|range km=
|range miles=350
|range nmi=
|ceiling m=
|ceiling ft=12000
|climb rate ms=
|climb rate ftmin=600
|more performance=

|avionics=
}}


==See also==
==See also==
Line 20: Line 111:
==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}

* Bridgman, Leonard. ''Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1951–52''. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, Ltd, 1951.


==External links==
==External links==
* [http://www.popsci.com/archive-viewer?id=hiEDAAAAMBAJ&pg=72&query=B-25 What Its Like To Fly A Car] detailed July 1952 [[Popular Science]] article
* [http://www.popsci.com/archive-viewer?id=hiEDAAAAMBAJ&pg=72&query=B-25 What Its Like To Fly A Car] detailed July 1952 [[Popular Science]] article
* [http://www.nasm.si.edu/research/aero/aircraft/fulton.htm Fulton Airphibian]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070111224206/http://www.nasm.si.edu/research/aero/aircraft/fulton.htm Fulton Airphibian]
* [http://www.Airphibian.com www.Airphibian.com - a website dedicated to the people who designed, built and tested the Airphibian]
* [http://www.Airphibian.com www.Airphibian.com]&nbsp;— a Web site dedicated to the people who designed, built and tested the Airphibian
[[Category:Roadable aircraft]]
[[Category:Aircraft in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution]]


{{Flying cars}}


[[Category:Roadable aircraft]]

[[Category:High-wing aircraft]]
{{aero-1940s-stub}}
[[Category:Single-engined tractor aircraft]]
{{Classicpow-auto-stub}}
[[Category:Aircraft first flown in 1946]]

[[sv:Airphibian]]

Latest revision as of 02:10, 14 September 2024

Airphibian
General information
TypeRoadable aircraft
ManufacturerContinental Inc
Designer
Number built4
History
Introduction date1946

The Fulton FA-2 Airphibian is an American roadable aircraft manufactured in 1946.

Development

[edit]

Designed by Robert Edison Fulton Jr., it was an aluminum-bodied car, built with independent suspension, aircraft-sized wheels, and a six-cylinder 165 hp engine. The fabric wings were easily attached to the fuselage, converting the car into a plane. Four prototypes were built.

In December 1950, the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) (later to become the FAA) certified one of the prototypes and gave it an 1A11 Aircraft Specification, N74104.[1] Lou Achitoff, was the CAA test pilot.[2] The N74154 is the aircraft that is today in the main building of the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, having previously been on display in the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.

The craft made its debut in November 1946 at Danbury, Connecticut.[3] Financial concerns forced Fulton to sell to a company that never developed it.[4]

Design

[edit]

The Airphibian took the approach of converting from an aircraft to a roadable vehicle by a conversion process that left aircraft sections behind during road use. The process consisted of removing a three-bladed propeller and placing it on a hook on the side of the fuselage, cranking down support casters, and disengaging lock levers connecting the flight unit to the road unit. The wing and aft fuselage are detached for road use.[5]

Survivors

[edit]

In the mid-1990s, one of the surviving Airphibians was restored by Fulton III, along with David Dumas and Deborah Hanson. Later, it was put on display for several years at the Canada Aviation Museum in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada in their main display hall, but in 2009 it moved to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center (annex of the National Air and Space Museum).[6] Since 2022 it has been on display in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.[7]

Specifications

[edit]

Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1951–52,[8] Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum[9]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 2
  • Length: 22 ft 2 in (6.76 m)
  • Wingspan: 34 ft (10 m)
  • Height: 7 ft 8 in (2.34 m)
  • Empty weight: 1,500 lb (680 kg)
  • Gross weight: 2,100 lb (953 kg)

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 120 mph (190 km/h, 100 kn)
  • Cruise speed: 110 mph (180 km/h, 96 kn)
  • Range: 350 mi (560 km, 300 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 12,000 ft (3,700 m)
  • Rate of climb: 600 ft/min (3.0 m/s)

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-03-09. Retrieved 2012-01-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-02-24. Retrieved 2012-01-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^ "Danbury".
  4. ^ 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
  5. ^ Harry Ziesloff (Feb 1957). "The Roadable Airplane". Experimenter.
  6. ^ "Collections — Fulton Airphibian FA-3-101". Retrieved 26 September 2011.
  7. ^ "Fulton Airphibian FA-3-101 | National Air and Space Museum". airandspace.si.edu. Retrieved 2022-11-02.
  8. ^ Bridgman 1951, p. 240c.
  9. ^ "Fulton Airphibian FA-3-101". Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Retrieved August 31, 2013.
  • Bridgman, Leonard. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1951–52. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, Ltd, 1951.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Fulton_Airphibian&oldid=1245618843"