Convair Model 116
Model 116 ConVairCar | |
---|---|
Model 116 | |
Role | Roadable aircraft
|
National origin | United States of America |
Manufacturer | Convair |
Designer | Ted Hall |
First flight | July 12, 1946 |
Number built | 1 |
Variants | Boeing Model 118 |
The Boeing Model 116 ConvAirCar was a prototype
Design and development
Following the end of the War, Hall and Tommy Thompson designed and developed the Convair Model 116 featured in Popular Mechanics magazine in 1946. The Model 116 consisted of a two-seat car body, powered by a rear-mounted 26 hp (19 kW) engine, with detachable monoplane wings and tail boom, fitted with their own tractor configuration 90 hp (67 kW) Franklin 4A4 (later 95 hp 4AL) engine driving a two bladed wooden propeller.
Operational history
The Model 116 (NX90654) flew on July 12, 1946, with pilot Russell Rogers at the controls. The sole prototype completed 66 test flights.[2] Hall subsequently designed a more sophisticated development of the Model 116, with a more refined car body and a more powerful "flight" engine known as the Model 118 (which also bore the name "ConvAirCar").[3] Two examples of the Model 118 flew in 1947 and after a crash of the first prototype, the second continued with the test program, but enthusiasm for the project waned and Convair cancelled the program. The rights of both the Model 116/118 reverted to Hall, who formed T.R Hall Engineering Corp., but the definitive Model 118 in its new incarnation, never achieved production status.[4]
Specifications (Model 116)
Data from General Dynamics Aircraft and their Predecessors[4]
General characteristics
- Powerplant: 1 × flat-four, 90 hp (67 kW)
- Powerplant: 1 × Crosley air-cooled, 26 hp (19 kW) (powered the car body)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 112.5 mph (181.1 km/h, 97.8 kn)
See also
- Flying car (aircraft)
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
References
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Wegg, John. General Dynamics Aircraft and their Predecessors. London: Putnam, 1990. ISBN 0-85177-833-X.
- Yenne, Bill. The World's Worst Aircraft. New York: Dorset Press, 1993. ISBN 0-88029-490-6.