This recently re-discovered roll of film features images of the world’s first flying car, the Waterman Arrowplane, later developed into another plane shown in the film which was known as an Arrowbile. Both were developed by inventor Dr. Waldo Waterman. Like the later Arrowbile, the Arrowplane was a tailless, two-seat, single-engine, pusher configuration roadable aircraft built in the US in the late 1930s. One of the first of its kind, it flew safely but generated little customer interest, and only five were produced. The first one shown in the film (:12) is wing number NS13 built in 1936. It boasted a 95hp Menasco B-4, a detachable swept-back wing, and tricycle gear. The Arrowplane was built with WPA subsidy established by Civil Aviation Authority head Eugene Vidal (father of author Gore Vidal), to encourage production of a safe, easy-to-fly “everyman’s airplane.” The Arrowplane was also sometimes known as the W-4. This adopted a similar layout to Waldo Waterman’s first flying wing aircraft, known as the Whatsit, but had a strut-braced high wing on a blunt-nosed, narrow fuselage pod with a tricycle undercarriage mounted under it. Its wings had wooden spars and metal ribs and were fabric covered, with triangular endplate fins carrying upright rudders. Its fuselage was steel framed and aluminium covered. It was powered by a 95 hp (71 kW) inverted inline 4-cylinder Menasco B-4 Pirate pusher engine mounted high in the rear of the fuselage.
The second aircraft shown at the 1:14 mark is wing # X262Y, the prototype of the Arrowbile.
Waldo Dean Waterman (June 16, 1894 – December 8, 1976) was an inventor and aviation pioneer from San Diego, California. He developed a series of tailless swept-wing aircraft incorporating tricycle landing gear, culminating in a low cost and simple to fly flying car. In the 1960s, Waterman built and flew his last aircraft. The Early Bird was based on the original Curtiss Pusher. The Chevybird was a similar monoplane powered by a Corvair engine.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
