MANAGEMENT IN AVIATION HISTORY BENCH MARKS
LEFT: Among the many early failed attempts to develop a roadable aircraſt for production was William Stout’s Sky Car which he designed and built just prior to WWII, in Michigan. Photo: Author’s collection.
Right: In 1941, Alabaman, Jess Dixon, built a roadable motorcycle/helicopter powered by a 40hp air-cooled engine. It is thought to have been one of a kind. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
successful hydroplanes and aeroplanes. In 1917, he designed the Autoplane, considered to be the fi rst serious contender for a fl ying car. The Autoplane’s aluminum body
was confi gured for a pilot/driver and two passengers. Powered by a Curtiss V-8, water-cooled, OXX-100hp pusher engine, Curtiss claimed it could achieve 65mph. The Autoplane had three sets of wings, and rode on four wheels. Short hops were as far off the ground as the Autoplane got before development ceased at the onset of WWI. It would be twenty years before
a genuine roadable aircraft was built to pass the newly formed Civil Aeronautics Authority (CAA) certifi cation for airworthiness. The inventor was none other than Curtiss’ long-time friend and aviation pioneer, Waldo Dean Waterman [1894-1976]. An Auto-Aero Magnat - Almost Waterman wrote his autobiography,
with Jack Carpenter, in 1988, entitled “Waldo, Pioneer Aviator” in which he candidly describes the successes and failures of his multi-faceted career in aviation. Raised in San Diego, CA, Waterman began building gliders in high school and ultimately became a profi cient pilot. After earning an engineering degree, he held various senior positions within the aviation industry. In 1929, Waterman designed his fi rst general aviation aircraft he called, the Whatsit. Despite the set-backs of the Great Depression, Waterman optimistically spent the following decade designing, building and selling a fl ying car. Within his
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autobiography the chapter spanning these years is entitled, “I almost become an Air-Auto Magnate”. Waterman’s concept was a small,
aff ordable roadable airplane which could be fl own by almost anyone after two hours of instruction. His search for a power plant resulted in selecting a 6-cylinder, 100hp “Commander” engine made by the Studebaker Automobile Co. in Indiana. After Waterman’s modifi cations he specifi ed it ran at 112 mph in the air and 56mph on the ground. Waterman exchanged $10,000 of stock in his venture for 50 of Studebaker’s engines. Eventually, the Arrowbile also incorporated a Studebaker radiator and battery. The 20ft.-long body of the Arrowbile hosted 38ft.-detachable wings in the shape of a “V”, like an arrowhead, thus giving the machine its name. Studebaker agreed to sell the Arrowbile for $3,000 at their car dealerships and ordered fi ve before Waterman’s factory was in production. In order to be street legal,
Waterman wrote: “We incorporated stop lights, sideview mirror and horn. Legally, we were able to classify the Arrowbile as a motorcycle since it had only three wheels and weighed less than 1,400lbs. Thus, we could get away with a single headlight and a small license plate, which greatly simplifi ed the streamlining.” Waterman’s test fl ights at Long
Beach Airport, went well and the long process to obtain CAA certifi cation began. In the summer of 1935, CAA representative John Greisse fl ew Arrowbile -1 (newly designated NS-13) from Riverside,
CA to Washington, D.C. clearly demonstrating its reliability. For fun, and in hopes of more fi nancial backing, Waterman’s friends, Amelia Earhart and Charles Lindbergh both enjoyed (separate) demonstration fl ights over Washington, D.C., but neither endorsed the Arrowbile nor placed an order for one. Nevertheless, demonstrations of the
new fl ying car were a sensation at air races. The factory at Santa Monica opened with great optimism while Studebaker’s fi ve Arrowbiles were in various forms of production. But in January of 1937, the U.S. economy took a major down-turn and start- up funding for the Waterman Aeroplane Company was withdrawn. At the same time, Waterman’s friend and business partner, Harris “Pop” Hanshue, suddenly died. Overwhelmed and with no alternative, Waterman was forced to close the factory after building only three complete Arrowbiles.
WHERE’S WALDO? Like the children’s book which challenges you to fi nd “Waldo” amid hundreds of other imaginary characters in an illustration, I failed to fi nd remnants of Waldo’s Arrowbiles #1, #2, #3, #4 (converted to a non-roadable in 1941-1942) and #5. Arrowbile #6 remained unfi nished until Waterman found a 120hp Tucker-Franklin engine and renamed it the Aerobile (sometimes designated the seventh Arrowbile). This fi nal roadable aircraft was designated N54P. Waterman shipped it to the Smithsonian during 1959 and it is
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