Vintage Photos of 12 Cool Flying Cars That Really Existed in the Past

Even before the Wright brothers made their first flight in 1903, people have widely imagined a future where flying cars — or aerocars — are a fact of life, whisking us about without the hassles of roads and traffic.

A flying car is a type of personal air vehicle or roadable aircraft that provides door-to-door transportation by both ground and air. The term “flying car” is also sometimes used to include hovercars.

Many prototypes have been built since the first years of the twentieth century using a variety of flight technologies and some have true VTOL performance, but no flying car has yet reached production status. Here are 12 amazing examples of flying cars from over the years.

1. Tampier Avion-Automobile (1921)

In 1921 René Tampier tackled the problem of designing an aircraft that was self-propelled and steerable on roads by including a second, low-powered engine driving the main landing wheels through a standard car-type transmission. The roadwheels were completed with a retractable pair nearer the tail. These were steerable, so on the road the Tampier Avion-Automobile, with its wings and tailplane folded, travelled tail first. Only two prototypes were built.


2. A.H. Russell’s Machine (1924)

A car with wings and a propeller protruding from the radiator grille, invented by A. H. Russell in Nutley, New Jersey.


3. A Combined Car, Boat and Aeroplane (1928)

An aerocar, unconfirmed as being able to fly, which had a triple function: a combined car, airplane and boat.


4. Jess Dixon’s Flying Auto (1940)

This flying car is almost a legend, and besides this photo and a brief mention of the vehicle in a newspaper clipping from Andalusia, Alabama, it might as well have not existed at all. According to the story, the photo above is of Jess Dixon; it was supposedly taken sometime around 1940. Although it’s considered a flying car by aviation history buffs, the machine is actually closer to a “roadable helicopter,” due to the two overhead blades spinning in opposite directions. In other words, it’s a gyrocopter that can also roll.

The Flying Auto was powered by a small forty-horsepower engine, and foot pedals controlled the tail vane on the back, allowing Mr. Dixon to turn in mid-air. It was also supposed to be able to reach speeds of up to one hundred miles per hour (160 kph), and was able to fly forwards, backwards, sideways, and hover. Not bad for a flying car that was never heard from again.


5. Ted Hall’s NX59711 (1946)

A flying automobile with a 130-hp. Franklin engine, it had a top road speed of 60mph and flight speed of 110mph. Those speeds were set by the first model of a design by Ted Hall, aviation engineer. Portable Products Corp., Garland, Tex., is considering the possibilities of producing it.

The “roadable” plane has detachable propeller, wing, booms, and tail. The forward end of the engine crankshaft turns the prop, while a shaft extends aft from the engine into a conventional automobile transmission and differential. Power goes both to propeller and rear wheels for the take-off.

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22 Vintage Wing Walking Photos That Prove Our Grandparents Were Out of Their Minds

Wing walking is one of the crazy stunts pilots got up to in the earlier days of aviation. It is still done sometimes, but with wires and straps and thing to make sure the practitioners won't die.

Back in the days these photos were taken, there were no such safeguards. Pilots would simply climb out of their cockpits and stand, sit, or hang from the wings or fuselage. This kind of thing was very popular in stunt shows of the 1920s, though it was being done for fun much earlier.

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Survivor of 1972 Andes Plane Crash Recalled of Harrowing Experience When He Has to Eat the Human Flesh to Stay Alive

On Oct. 13, 1972, a Uruguayan air force plane, carrying the Old Christians Club rugby team, crashed in the Andes mountains of Chile. Facing starvation and death, the survivors reluctantly resorted to cannibalism. Among the 45 people on board, 28 survived the initial crash. After 72 days on the glacier, 16 people were rescued.

Survivors of 1972 Andes plane crash.

Survivors of 1972 Andes plane crash.

The flight carrying 19 members of a rugby team, family, supporters, and friends originated in Montevideo, Uruguay and was headed for Santiago, Chile. While crossing the Andes, the inexperienced co-pilot who was in command mistakenly believed they had reached Curicó, Chile, despite instrument readings indicating differently. He turned north and began to descend towards what he thought was Pudahuel Airport. Instead, the aircraft struck the mountain, shearing off both wings and the rear of the fuselage. The forward part of the fuselage careened down a steep slope like a toboggan and came to rest on a glacier. Three crew members and more than a quarter of the passengers died in the crash, and several others quickly succumbed to cold and injuries.

On the tenth day after the crash, the survivors learned from a transistor radio that the search had been called off. Faced with starvation and death, those still alive agreed that should they die, the others may consume their bodies so they might live. With no choice, the survivors ate the bodies of their dead friends.

Survivors of Flight 571 outside of the plane.

Survivors of Flight 571 outside of the plane.

Survivors of Flight 571 outside of the plane.

Roberto Canessa was a second-year medical student when the plane he had chartered with his rugby team mates crashed into the mountains. “Eating human flesh, you feel like you’re the most miserable person on the earth,” he said. “But in my mind, there was the idea that my friend was giving me a chance of survival that he didn’t have.”

Canessa broken his silence to tell his own story in a memoir, I Had To Survive. The specter of resorting to cannibalism haunts him still. “We had long since run out of the meagre pickings we’d found on the plane, and there was no vegetation or animal life to be found,” he recalled. “After just a few days we were feeling the sensation of our own bodies consuming themselves just to remain alive.”

Roberto Canessa in the early 1970s.

“The bodies of our friends and team-mates, preserved outside in the snow and ice, contained vital, life-giving protein that could help us survive. But could we do it?

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Fascinating Vintage Photos From Boeing's Archive Show How Glamorous Flying Was in the 1950s

In our modern world, it's easy to forget how cool flying actually is. But people didn't take flying for granted in the 1950s, when air travel was still new and exciting .

In that era, flight attendants served in-flight meals on fine china plates with proper cutlery , passengers could stretch their legs in lounges on the plane, and even sleep in seats that converted into beds.

Folks at the INSIDER dug through Boeing's digital archives and found some fascinating photos that show what flying was like 60 years ago.

Though the seats do appear to be roomier. The inside of this plane cabin was designed with fabric coverings over the sidewalls, ceiling, and floor, to muffle sound.

Especially in the main passenger cabin, which could seat 18 people. The seats could be lowered into nine double sleeping berths; another nine single sleeping berths could be lowered from overhead.

In addition to reclinable seats, planes featured overhead sleeping berths. Curtains allowed for privacy.

Sleeping berths could just be popped open from the overhead compartments. They could easily be opened and closed.

Overnight flights were certainly more comfortable. It's unclear whether airlines supplied dressing gowns.

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Vintage Photos From the Scandinavian Airlines' Archive Show How Much Better Plane Food Was From the 1950s

Of the many things travelers dislike about flying, plane food is often high on the list. But in-flight dining hasn't always been bland.

These vintage photos from the collection of Scandinavian Airlines show passengers from the 1950s through to the 1980s enjoying gourmet meals such as caviar, lobster, and a whole leg of ham at 35,000-feet.

In the 1950s, passengers in sleeper cabins on a DC-6 aircraft were served an in-flight breakfast in bed.

In this photo, taken either in the 1950s or 1960s, a Scandinavian Airlines chef prepared lobster in the flight kitchen at Kastrup Airport in Copenhagen. Yes, even lobster was on the menu.

Dinner trays looked very different in the 1960s, when they included real plates, a glass, and metal cutlery.

A woman traveling with her baby on board a flight in 1968 was offered baby food in jars, provided by the airline. That year, Scandinavian Airlines started a service for children.

Back in 1969, some passengers were served meals directly by an in-flight chef. Here, the chef is dishing up Smørrebrød, a type of Danish open sandwich (rye bread topped with meat or fish and cheese).

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Incredible Vintage Photos Reveal How Babies Used to Travel With Family on Airplanes in the 1950s

Flying with children has never been easy.

But before the days of special seat belt attachments and sky nannies parents took a more cavalier approach to childcare, simply placing babies in cradles that hung above their heads.

These incredible vintage images, dating back to the 1950s, have emerged revealing that ‘skycots’ were attached to the overhead luggage bin, with children placed inside for the journey’s duration.

(via Daily Mail)

15 Found Photos That Show Pin-Up Bombshell Nose Art of World War II Bombers

The inscription of art work on military planes dates to World War I, when paintings were usually extravagant company or unit insignia. However, regulations were put in place after the war to stymie the practice.

As the United States entered World War II, nose art regulations were relaxed, or in many cases totally ignored. WWII would become the golden age of aircraft artistry.

Artwork was typically painted on the nose of the plane, and the term "nose art" was coined.

Nose art was a morale booster, and those in daily combat needed that boost. Facing the prospect of death on every flight, the crew deserved all of the encouragement, and smiles, available to them.

The art on the plane unified the crew, and identified it, and made it unique from all of the aircraft in their unit or on their base.

These photos from profkaren were found in an old photo album belonging to someone who was in the 99th Bomber Squadron, 9th Bomber Group during WWII.

Adam's Eve

Ball of Fire

Celestial Princess

Dangerous Lady

Dragon Lady

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Vintage Photographs Capture the Experiences of Passengers at Manchester Airport in the 1980s

A poignant look back at the passenger experience at Manchester Airport as seen through the lens of Shirley Baker thirty years ago, having spent a day at the airport in 1987 capturing the experiences of passengers using the airport. The images show Manchester Airport in all its 80’s glory – curly perms, corduroy trousers, pay phones, oodles of cheap duty free, and smoking in the departure lounge. Baker’s photographs also show how people passed the time before a flight by playing cards and board games – a far cry from smart phones, tablets and kindles. The style of passengers is also brought into focus with big hair and plenty of shell suits on show.

Born in Salford, Baker was famed for her street photography of working class inner-city areas. She studied photography at Manchester College of Technology and then the London College of Printing. She started work as an industrial photographer for fabric manufacturers, Courtaulds before working freelance and as a writer and photographer on various magazines, books and newspapers.

The photos of Manchester Airport were discovered in the archives at Central Library. They explore work created after Shirley Baker was approached by the Documentary Photography Archive (DPA), who were seeking to commission photographers to grow their collection of contemporary work.

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A Day on the Airway: Vintage Cigarette Cards Depict a Flight From London to Amsterdam in Their Early Days From the 1920s

A set of vintage cigarette cards depicting a flight from London to Amsterdam in the early days of commercial air travel. The images (each "from an official photograph supplied by Imperial Airways") are accompanied by text detailing "our" flight, from check-in and take-off, to views over the Channel, France, and Brussels (where we land for lunch), to the final landing in Amsterdam.

The set included the backs with the text, as the little details are fascinating insights into a time when planes held "as many as" 20 passengers, reached cruising altitudes of 3,000 feet, and got from London to Brussels in "only" two and a half hours.

Check-in ("weighing-in").

The Control Tower, where the controller marks plane positions on a map with little flags.

Position finding, using the wireless.

"Land lighthouses."

Embarkment into our 20-seat biplane, which attains 100 miles an hour.

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