…Pursued by the police on the road is rapidly rushing “Citroen”. Already tried all the tricks to get away from the chase, but the police are not far behind, but will catch up. Left one last thing. And here the car suddenly POPs wings and it smoothly from the road on the eyes of the surprised police officers takes to the skies.
Who does not remember those mind blowing trick shots from kinokomedii Fantomas, using the latest achievements of science and technology to implement their evil plans! Fantasy? Of course. Although not without technical Foundation.
FROM DREAMS TO REALITY
But the dream of such transport is rooted in the mists of time. Remember well, at least ancient tales, where so often the hero save flying flying carpets. And Baba Yaga is just to jump in a mortar, as that is already sweeping through the air, deftly managed with a broom… However, from ancient times came to us, not only fairy tales. In one of the halls automobile Museum in Turin is kept the fancy carriage with the mill wings (Fig. 1), Roberto Vulture built in 1472. In a strong wind the wings began to rotate, slowly move the crew, grayhouse on the cobbles of the medieval bridge wooden wheels with iron rims. Say, the inventor pursued a daring idea to take to the skies in his car, but she only desperately waving his wings, not wanting to turn into a flying machine.
Fig. 1. The cart with the mill wings, 1472
Fig. 2. Flying tank is a glider, 1942
Fig. 3. All-terrain vehicle “Hover Rover” with a partial unloading of the wheels with the airbag.
Fig. 4. Flying “gene” company “PIASECKI”.
From the middle ages forward to the grim years of the great Patriotic war. Then a team of designers under the guidance of O. K. Antonov was created… a flying tank. It was a conventional light tank T-60, attached the wings and stabilizer. Steel glider (Fig. 2) in flight operated by the driver of the tank.
Here it tells the designer General O. K. Antonov on the first test of a flying tank, designed to be dropped behind enemy lines in guerrilla territory. “The first tank to have experienced S. N. Anokhin — heroes of the Soviet Union, a great test pilot. The plane took tank in tow, broke up.. and flew. All went well… a Landing he Made at the airport in Bykovo. When the airfield, the team sees that they are flying the tank, of course, all gone. Anokhin and sat down, started the engine of the tank and returned to their base on a country road”.
INSTEAD OF THE WINGS-PILLOW
In our days the wide spread found the car, flying “on the ground” vehicles hovercraft (Ohr). However, they represent an independent direction in the development of all-terrain and vehicles. Therefore, we here focus only on the original hybrid car and WUAs. They use air cushion for movement on the road and the usual wheels to ride on the highway.
In 1962 in England tested two light Rovers “land Rover” with all-wheel drive. At the first metres of one car stuck in the soft itanom ground and are unable to budge And the second, called “Hover Rover” (Fig. 3), is easily walked on, if not on loose ploughing, and on a flat road: it was additionally equipped with an air cushion that lifts the car above the ground, partially unloading the drive wheels and not allowing them to sink deeply into the ground. This had two fans and an additional engine power 72 HP
Two similar machines made in France. Firm “Bertin” build machine, VS-7, is provided with driving wheels and an air bag, which allowed 80% to unload the wheels of the car, significantly increasing its flotation on soft ground, swamps, sand and snow covered terrain. This machine with a capacity of 2.5 t is equipped with three diesel engines with a total capacity of 270 liters. Another French firm “Sedan” for agriculture has created a truck “Agroplan” carrying capacity of 1.2 tons, is equipped with four driven wheels and an air bag. Such machines can move over the water — a paradox! — but don’t have the buoyancy.
In 1958 in the United States, a contest was held to create a light flying device, dubbed the “flying jeep”. According to competition conditions the machine must be something of a cross between an army jeep “jeep” and a light helicopter. It is designed to fly low to the ground, lifting from any platform, and used for transportation of soldiers, weapons and cargo, as well as to launch guided missiles. In the early 60-ies there were several models of these flying jeeps of various schemes and designs. Although the distribution they received, but I imagine quite a lot of interest. The first flying jeep VZ-8P (Fig. 4) was equipped with two horizontal screws in the annular channels located along the axis of the machine front and rear of the driver. Between the screws installed two engines at 180 HP, which was then replaced by one turbojet power 425 HP Screws rotate in different directions, creating a lift force; under them were deflected flap installed to control the machine.
Fig. 5. Experienced a flying “jeep” company “Chrysler”
Fig. 6. One of the prototypes flying platform.
Fig. 7. Air taxi, established in the Moscow aviation Institute.
Fig. 8. Heavy flying truck, designed in the MAI
The same pattern developed by another flying “jeep”, “Chrysler” (Fig. 5), in which control surfaces are located above the screws and under them. The screws were operated with engine capacity of 380 HP, These experimental machines were flying at a height of on average 2-5 m, and their speed on the test did not exceed 30 km/h, although the maximum design speed of 240-260 km/h.
In 50-ies were actively constructed various “flying platform”, which was one of the attempts to create a simple and easy for individual aircraft moving at low altitude. The principle of the flight of the flying platform has a lot in common with a helicopter, only here two coaxial screws, rotating in opposite directions arranged in a horizontal annular body, which is the base unit (Fig. 6). It was created several options platforms, tested on a leash in flights at the height up to 10 m. Despite the huge temptation of creating miniature devices of this kind, they never became widespread because of the instability in flight. However, designers now constantly refer to this diagram.
In our country also created several projects of flying cars and platforms, using the lifting force of the horizontal propellers. For example, at the Moscow aviation Institute under the guidance of Professor I. P. Bratukhin was designed by two autolite. The first model of the lightweight apparatus (Fig. 7) in contrast to the American twin-screw flying jeeps was fitted with four screws, which much increased its stability in flight. Initially, even expected such machines to be used as a flying taxi. With a maximum speed of 150 km/h they could carry four people, rising to a height of 200 m. Another model developed in MAI, was a heavy flying platform (Fig. 8) for the transport of goods, that is, in fact, it was a flying truck. He was equipped with eight horizontal screws and the takeoff weight of 40 tons could carry a load of 20 T. This machine could become an indispensable vehicle for the carriage of large and heavy cargo off-road, through sand, snow, rivers and lakes.
Most recently, a group of students of MAI under the direction of engineer Vladimir Pyatov was built single easy flying platform, equipped with two horizontal screws in the annular channels located on either side of the driver. This apparatus has a weight of only 62 kg, for some 25-30 minutes it can be easy to disassemble and re-assemble. It can be a convenient transport for exploration parties, rural mail carriers, forest Rangers, oilmen and even tourists
AND WILL FLY IF THE CAR ITSELF?
Go to one of the Paris airfields, where there is a show sport and recreational aircraft and helicopters built by the designers-lovers in many European countries. Begin demonstration flights And then on the runway enters miniature single car. What has he to aircraft cabin? But it goes the driver quickly adjusts to his car wings, fuselage, empennage, right in front of the audience is born sport plane (Fig. 9). Another few minutes and he easily takes to the skies. So the Frenchman E. Leader demonstrated to the public in 1973, your flying car. It was equipped with two engine: rear set in motion the wheels of the car, providing a road speed of 70 km/h and the front used to turning the air screw: the air speed was 170 km/h.
There is a zealous supporter and designer of the flying cars in America. His name is Milton Taylor. His first “aerokar” he took to the air in 1948 and since then has built several of the original models. All autodetach Taylor used the same scheme as that of the French model (Fig. 10): to a small passenger car with two-door streamlined bodywork at the rear is attached all the aircraft equipment. Only here is not used the pull and pusher propeller located behind the tail.
Wings, fuselage and tail compactly folded and transported on the trailer. “Aerocare” Taylor used aircraft engine “Lycoming” power of 143 HP, as a leading car wheel and the propeller through a special coupling. Interestingly, for travel on the road requires only 40 BHP of the total power of the engine. The first versions of this machine had a range of 725 km and a maximum air speed of 160 km/h.
Fig. 9. Phase transformation of E. Leboter car in the plane
Fig. 10. One of the first versions of a flying car Milton Taylor.
Fig. 11. The latest model of autolite “Aerokar-III” Taylor.
Fig. 12. Flying car “Mizar”.
The most successful was the new avtolet “Aerokar – III” (Fig. 11), who even received a certificate of the International aeronautical Federation of airworthiness. But it should be noted that to receive such a high honor can’t even a light aircraft. This kind of recognition of the many years of research by M. Taylor. New car model-the plane has a mass of 950 kg, of them directly on the aircraft’s equipment has 450 kg. Wingspan of autolet 10 m, fuselage length 7 m. For take-off machine requires a path length of 200 m and a maximum air speed reaches 200 km/h, flying range — 800 km., the Inventor’s flown on their offspring 4 thousand hours doing in the air path 300 thousand km.
More perfect the flying car has become avtolet “Mizar” (Fig. 12), based on mass-produced passenger car “Ford” engine with 80 HP and a 4-seater sports body type. On the back is hinged aircraft equipment: wings and tailplane with two stabilizers from light sport aircraft. After landing, the equipment is removed for two minutes.
The rear of the vehicle between the longitudinal beams of the tail is an additional engine “continental” power of 210 HP with pusher propeller. It is planed to install more powerful engines “Lycoming” with a capacity of 235, 260 and 300 HP But these plans were never realized… On the third demonstration flight “Mizar” gathered a huge number of journalists and spectators. However, experts believed a new car unfinished, she had a number of significant drawbacks. But for the sake of advertising and in anticipation of the imminent profits about it, tried not to remember. And that’s when the flying car is coming in for a landing, it suddenly lurched and started down. In the eyes of the crowd of thousands broke such a short life is quite promising model autolite…
A new form of transport — avtoledi in its infancy, and its road to perfection is thorny and difficult. All other vehicles have already passed this dangerous and long path of trial and error, disappointments and even victims. The idea of the absolute machine, universal vehicle attracts a lot of inventors, but their designs do not go beyond purely experimental and unreliable machines.
No wonder one of the Soviet experts aptly pointed out that flying cars “were actually poor airplanes and poor cars.” Nevertheless, thanks to its tempting benefits, they won the hearts of many professional and Amateur designers seeking the most efficient ways of further development of this new and promising mode of transport.
Avtoledi today are only the first stage of experiments and studies, and it is too early to speak about their practical use. Time will tell if they are destined a great future.
E. KOCHNEV, engineer
