Own a rare flying car (1 Viewer)

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Thorlifter

Captain
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Jun 10, 2004
Knoxville, TN
Get Your Own Vintage Flying Car for $3.5 Million | Autopia from Wired.com

Want to be just like sitcom star Bob Cummings? We don't remember who he is, either, but Marilyn Felling does. She wanted an Aerocar just like his, got one — and now she's trying to unload it for $3.5 million.

The Aerocar symbolizes the heady dreams of the future that seduced America during the post-war era like nothing else, and this particular example may be the most original you'll find anywhere. The Moller Autovolantor or the Pentagon's flying Darpa-car? Pfft. Vaporware, my friend. They aren't even prototypes yet. Yeah, maybe in a few years you'll be able to pick up a Terrafugia, but it won't have the same kitschy 1950s charm of an Aerocar.

Just six Aerocars were ever built, and they did fly when they were built. Marilyn Felling bought Aerocar No. 2 more than 25 years ago, but never restored it. She insists it has been examined by a mechanic and could be made airworthy in a few hours. Of course, N103D hasn't flown since the Ford Administration, so that may be optimistic.

Still — how cool would it be to own a flying car that'll do 60 mph on the highway and 110 in the air? Just think of the joy you'd feel. And if you can't think of enough good reasons to own it, the folks at aerocarforsale.com have spelled them out for you.

You can pick one up "for inclusion in your private collection." Or if you're feeling philanthropic, buy one "for a donation to your favorite museum." Maybe your kids or grandkids would appreciate it "as a legacy for the heirs of your estate. "Our favorite is the promise of "a 1031 property exchange," though we have no idea what that means.

Despite all those perfectly rational benefits, after two years the Aerocar still hasn't attracted a buyer and Mrs. Felling turned to eBay. We know gas is getting cheaper, but we're not so sure about her decision to keep the "Buy it now" option at her original price of $3.5 million. There's a "Best offer" option, but as of Monday morning, no one had made one.

The Aerocar was the brainchild of engineer Moulton "Molt" Taylor, who reportedly lined up hundreds of potential buyers but only built six before production folded faster than Aerocar's wings in 1956.

General Aviation News says Marilyn and Carl Felling bought the Aerocar in 1981 with the idea of restoring and flying it, but they didn't want to risk damaging the rare vehicle. "We realized that it was just too valuable to fly it around because we might ding it," Carl Felling told the magazine. And so it is that everything about N103D is original, down to the repairs made to the wings after a minor crash that involved Raul Castro and a cow back in the '50s. Somewhere along the line it was picked up by a radio station in Oregon that used it to do traffic reports during the 1960s. N103D last flew in 1977 and went up for sale in 1981 as part of a divorce settlement. Felling tried to sell it two years ago but found no takers. Now, it's for sale again -- snap it up, before you lose your piece of fantastical history.

By the way, the AeroCar really worked. You can see an old newsreel of the car driving and flying here.
 
Nice! Aeroplane magazine did a feature a couple of months ago on an Aerocar that is still in use. I'll dig out the article and post some pics etc.
 

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