Oldest Known Flying ‘Car’ Up for Auction

It doesn’t look like a car, and it doesn’t look like it would fly, but what is believed to be the world’s oldest “roadable aircraft” is for sale. The antique was built in 1934 by Frank Skroback and at the very minimum provides proof that people have long dreamed of cars that can be flown like airplanes. Or are they airplanes that can be driven like cars? No matter, because whatever you call it, it’s being auctioned this weekend in Atlanta. In addition to the wild machine, the winning bidder scores extensive documentation, including the 1921 patent on the design and correspondence demonstrating Skroback’s attempt to sell his vehicle. This isn’t the first flying car to hit the block. A Taylor Aerocar was auctioned more than a year ago. The Taylor is probably the most famous — and successful — example of an aircraft you can drive. Or car you can fly. Unlike the Aerocar, nobody can seem to find proof of Skroback’s vehicle ever taking flight. It looks like little more than a fuselage with six small

wings attached. Red Baron’s Antiques, which is selling the plane, says it is 21 feet long, and each wing has a 7-foot span. Those wings look like they may come up a bit short in providing enough lift. But even if the wings could lift the stubby fuselage off the ground, a lack of any substantial vertical control surfaces would likely mean controlled flight would be tricky at best. There are some small rudder-like appendages on the rear wings, but they hardly look big enough to provide any sort of directional stability. No word on what the engine is, but with the the obvious drag and small wings, our guess is that it had better be more powerful than it appears if this thing has any hope of even getting the tail wheel off the ground. It’s safe to say the guys at Terrafugia have nothing to worry about, in terms of somebody putting Skroback’s contraption into production. Photo: Red Baron’s Antiques

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Oldest Known Flying ‘Car’ Up for Auction