 | |
 Taylor Aerocar III on display at the Museum of Flight | |
| Industry | Automobile |
|---|---|
| Defunct | 1960s |
Key people | Moulton Taylor |
| Products | Flying automobiles 'An idea before its time' |
Aerocar International was a roadable aircraft manufacturer, founded by Moulton Taylor in Longview, Washington. [1] Work continued until the late 1960s, when changing legislation made Taylor's designs impractical.
Moulton Taylor was a former naval commander, and is credited with flying and demonstrating the first guided missile. In 1947, he produced the first conceptual drawings for the Aerocar, and in 1948, he began development. The first model built was backed with a $50,000 investment from 49 investors. The first Aerocars were manufactured on a custom basis, and were priced at $12,000, approximately $7000 more than the cheapest light plane in 1951. There were seven Aerocars built from 1950 through 1967, in two different versions. The interior in both versions were cramped, with only fourteen cubic feet of baggage space over the engine compartment. Aerocar I had the capability to cruise at 100+ mph and its range was 300 miles on a 23.5 gallon fuel tank. On the road, its speed was 55-60 mph. [2]
Moulton wanted to mass produce the Aerocar in order to make it more affordable, so he entered into an agreement with Ling-Temco Enterprises in 1961, in Dallas, Texas for production. [1] According to Moulton, the company accepted $278,000 in pre-order deposits and absconded with the money. Taylor sued the company and was involved in a two-year lawsuit in an attempt to retrieve the money. [2] Taylor was never successful in producing the Aerocar on a mass scale, he says, because of the Federal Aviation Administration and their costly regulations, which would govern the industry. [2]
Aero Car or Aerocar may refer to:
Aerocar International's Aerocar was an American roadable aircraft designed and built by Moulton Taylor in Longview, Washington in 1949. Although six examples were made, it never entered large-scale production. It is considered one of the first practical flying cars.
The Ace Baby Ace, a single-seat, single-engine, parasol wing, fixed-gear light airplane, was marketed as a homebuilt aircraft when its plans were first offered for sale in 1929 — one of the first homebuilt aircraft plans available in the United States. Plans are still available and Baby Aces are still being built. Orland Corben designed a series of aircraft for the Ace Aircraft Manufacturing Company, the Baby Ace, Junior Ace, and Super Ace. Corben's name was associated with the aircraft, and it is commonly known as the Corben Baby Ace.
The Aerocar II Aero-Plane was an unusual light aircraft flown in the United States in 1964. It was developed from designer Moulton Taylor's Aerocar roadable aircraft, but could not be driven as a road vehicle. It used the wings and tail designed for the Aerocar, with a new fibreglass cabin. Excluding the parts needed for road operation allowed two more passengers to be carried. Only a single example was built.
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The Aerocar Micro-IMP was a light sportsplane developed from the successful Mini-IMP homebuilt. Designed by Moulton Taylor and Jerry Holcomb in 1978, it was finished in 1981 and demonstrated at Oshkosh the following year.
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