- [Glen] There have been some unusual
vehicles that were produced including some
that were dangerous, unconventional,
impractical, and even fun.
This is Glen and today, and we are bringing you
a mix of 15 unusual and personal transportation vehicles.
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- [Announcer] Number 15.
- [Glen] Paul Moller has been trying to bring
the M200 flying saucer shaped hover cars to market
since around 1974 and progress has been
excruciatingly slow since.
Three models have been produced to this date:
the M200 X prototype, the M200G Volantor,
and the M200G Neuera.
Demonstrated to fly outside of ground effect
the Neuera is the closest Moller came to producing
a flying vehicle that he could sell.
And, like the M200G the Neuera features eight
rotor power engines for lift and propulsion.
The craft offers side by side seating,
350 pound payload and provides a cruising speed
of 75 miles an hour with a claimed top speed
of 100 miles per hour.
The Neuera is said to provide a range of 100 miles
between refueling spots and can be configured
to run on ethanol, gasoline, or blended fuels.
Moller had predicted that they would have
the M200G ready for sale by early 2008
with a cost under $100,000.
But, this did not occur.
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- [Announcer] Number 14.
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- [Glen] Designed and built by SwissCopter
based out of Arizona, USA the Dragonfly DF-1
uses a pair of hydrogen peroxide fueled rockets
attached to the tips of the rotors for power
instead of a more conventional gas turbine engine
found in most contemporary helicopters.
The Dragonfly DF-1 weighs 234 pounds or 106 kilograms
and can carry up to 500 pounds or 227 kilograms
including pilot, fuel, and cargo.
Top speed of the aircraft is 115 miles per hour
or 185 kilometers per hour.
Cruise speed is around 40 miles per hour
or 65 kilometers per hour.
And, the flight time is up to 50 minutes.
Control of the Dragonfly DF-1 also differs
from a more normal helicopter as the Dragonfly DF-1
gets a much simpler handlebar mechanism
which hangs down from the rotor head
and allows the pilot to control the angle of the blades.
A throttle lever provides for power adjustment.
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- [Announcer] Number 13.
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- [Glen] The Lockheed XFV 1 nicknamed
the Tail Sitter, is a research aircraft
from the 1950s which were the first to experiment
with vertical take off and landing.
The XFV-1 was first flown in March of 1954
and piloted by Herman "Fish" Salmon
who was to be the sole test pilot during
the XFV-1 project.
This plane had a length of 37 feet or 11.25 meters,
a wingspan of 27 and a half feet or 8.35 meters,
with a weight of 22,596 pounds
or 5,260 kilograms,
and a speed of 581 miles per hour
or 935 kilometers per hour.
The XFV-1 used an Allison XT40-A-14 turbo prop engine
that put out 7,000 horsepower making it capable
of climbing 10,820 feet per minute
or 3,298 meters per minute.
And, it had a ceiling of 8.14 miles or 13.1 kilometers.
The US Navy realized the aircraft was entirely
impractical for operating in anything other
than perfect conditions and the project was canceled
only one year after the Lockheed XFV-1 first flew.
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- [Announcer] Number 12.
- [Glen] Built by Universal Hovercraft
the UH-19XRW Hoverwing Ground Effect hovercraft
is designed from Kevlar and carbon fiber
over a foam core.
This is impact resistant and will hold up
in the harshest operating conditions including
extreme cold and heat.
This four season high performance hovercraft
is unique because of the ability to add wings
for flight in ground effect enabling you
to clear obstacles and fly over rough water
at speeds of 75 miles per hour.
Removing the wings from the Hoverwing
converts it into sports mode, a sleek, high performance
hovercraft able to carry four to six passengers
and takes just 10 minutes.
The price on these from 179,000 to $190,000
and the craft is registered as a boat
so no pilot license is required.
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- [Announcer] Number 11.
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- [Glen] A one of a kind propeller driver car
with a top speed of 75 miles per hour
the Helicron 1 was a car which was revealed in 1932.
Essentially, the Helicron was a car which used
a propeller located right between
the front wheels for propulsion.
And, the rear wheel steering
gave the car unpredictable handling.
Back when safety laws were a lot more relaxed
this would have been a dangerous automobile
to drive on the roads where a collision
could result in a piece of propeller flying off
at a high rate of speed.
In 2000, the Helicrohn was discovered in a barn in France,
transported to Nashville, Tennessee and fully restored
at the Lane Motor Museum.
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- [Announcer] Number 10.
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- [Glen] The initial example of the Deep Flight
Merlin Open Cockpit Wet Subs, the Necker Nymph
is manufactured by Hawkes Ocean Technologies.
The three person Necker Nymph aerosub uses
the same underwater diving principle as the Merlin
and unlike conventional subs uses downward lift
on the wings to fly down to a depth of 130 feet
or about 40 meters.
The Necker Nymph is 15 feet or 4.5 meters long
and weighs around 1,650 pounds, or 750 kilograms,
and dives can last up to two hours.
The Necker Nymph submersible costs $690,000,
was built in 2010 and is available to rent at Necker Island,
Sir Richard Branson's exclusive island paradise
located in the British Virgin Islands.
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- [Announcer] Number nine.
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- [Glen] Rick Dobbertin, the creator behind
the Surface Orbiter built this one off vehicle
with a lightweight aluminum frame known as the HydroCar.
The HydroCar took 10 years to build and can drive
on land or water with ease thanks to
its ingenious pontoon system.
Three hydraulic levers control the up and down
movement of the sponsons, axles, and wheel well doors
for transitioning in and out of the water.
The HydroCar has a Quadzilla 4L80E four speed transmission
and comes with a 762 horsepower
speed boat and hot rod hybrid engine.
With a top speed of 125 miles per hour
or 201 kilometers per hour on land
and 60 miles per hour or 97 kilometers per hour
in the water.
Costing one million dollars to build the HydroCar
recently sold at auction for the low price of $60,500.
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- [Announcer] Number eight.
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- [Glen] Airscooter Corporation was founded
in early 2000 by Elwood Norris and based
in Henderson, Nevada.
In 2005 they developed they single seat AirScooter II
which was intended to be classified as a ultralight aircraft
with a coaxial rotor configuration.
Capable of carrying a load of 350 pounds
this was expected to weigh 254 pounds and be powered
by a single 65 horsepower four stroke engine.
Although its operating ceiling was supposed to be
around 10,000 feet or 2700 meters the AirScooter
was not capable of an emergency decent and was only used
for below 50 feet or 15 meters above ground level
for recreational flying.
The AirScooter Corporation went out of business by 2013.
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- [Announcer] Number seven.
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- [Glen] The Nord 500 Cadet was a ducted,
fan powered single seat experimental aircraft
developed by the French company Nord to help
in the development of vertical take off and landing aircraft
in the late 1960s.
Featuring two 317 horse power Allison T63 turbines
driving the large diameter propellers
within the shrouds the ducts could be turned
to the horizontal position for vertical lift
during take off and landing and then rotated
to the upright position for forward flight.
Directional control of the Nord 500 during vertical flight
was done by small winglets attached to the bottom
of each duct.
During forward flight the aircraft was controlled using
a conventional rudder or elevator tail set up.
Later, Nord merged with the Aerospatiale Corporation
and was renamed the Aerospatiale N500.
A more powerful advanced version of the aircraft
was planned however, it never materialized.
And, by 1971 the project was canceled.
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- [Announcer] Number six.
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- [Glen] Built to operate in all marine environments
C-Enduro uses energy harvesting technology
combined with an efficient self riding hull
and is a long endurance autonomous surface vehicle
used to safely and cost effectively collect data at sea.
This has a solar panel system with 10 high efficiency
panels generating a peak electrical power
of 1100 watts and a wind turbine system
that has a lightweight three blade system
generating a peak output of 500 watts.
This lightweight 910 kilogram ship has two
DC brushless motors giving this a top speed
of 6.5 knots for a period of up to 30 days
depending on the power configuration.
Unprecedented payload capacity and power
enables the use of a combination of payloads
during any one mission and can dramatically
reduce the cost of data collection
by removing the need for traditional survey vessels.
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- [Announcer] Number five.
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- [Glen] Built from the late 50s until 1973
the Inflatoplane was an inflatable, easily transportable
light airplane designed for observation use.
There were two types, one a single seater
while the other had room for two occupants.
These were hooked up to an air compressor
once the Inflatoplane had been delivered
to its operational area and the crew waited
for it to inflate.
Then, after starting up the 60 horsepower
McCulloch engine they said their prayers
and took to the skies.
Sadly, Lieutenant "Pug" Wallace was killed
during one of the test flights.
And in the end, the project was abandoned
after Army generals realized how vulnerable
the aircraft and its pilot were to any kind
of enemy fire.
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- [Announcer] Number four.
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- [Glen] An ultralight concept vehicle
the 2004 Rinspeed Splash makes it possible
to travel on the road, in the water,
and in the air.
The sports car transforms into an amphibious vehicle
at the touch of a button thanks to
a special hydraulic mechanism.
But, that alone wasn't enough for Frank M. Rinderknecht,
the founder of Rinspeed.
A complex integrated hydrofoil system enables
the Splash to fly at an altitude of about two feet
or .6 meters above the water.
The Splash accelerates in about 5.9 seconds
to 62 miles an hour or 100 kilometers per hour
and reaches a top speed of 124 miles per hour,
or 200 kilometers per hour as a sports car.
When operating normally in the water
this gets a top speed of 31 miles per hour
or 50 kilometers per hour and 50 miles per hour
or 80 kilometers per hour when functioning
as a hydrofoil.
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- [Announcer] Number three.
(jaunty music)
- [Glen] The Surface Orbiter came from humble beginnings
a 1959 Hile stainless steel milk tanker,
to be precise.
But, thanks to the demanding work
over four and half year by Rick Dobbertin
of Syracuse, New York, the Surface Orbiter
became a reality.
Equipment for the Dobbertin Surface Orbiter
includes a GPS system with 24 mile range radar,
multiple radio systems, auto-inflating life raft,
dual steering wheels, marine cruise control,
and bunch of other essential equipment.
The first amphibious vehicle to travel
the length of the Panama Canal the Orbiter
logged over 33,000 miles on land and it went over
3,000 miles by water, including open seas
with waves up to 18 feet or 5.4 meters high.
The Surface Orbiter was designed to be
a genuinely all terrain amphibious vehicle
that could go around the world without the need
for support vehicles.
This classic vehicle never got to accomplish this feat
due to lack of funding.
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- [Announcer] Number two.
(jaunty music)
- [Glen] In 1960, the American company
Filper Research managed by William Orr
built an unusual helicopter, the Filper Beta.
It was equipped with a gyroflex system of rotors,
a novelty using special sinkers for rotors
with trimming support at the base of the blades.
This concept was first tested on a Filper helicopter
that had two pylons with rotors connected
by a bar with the pilot sitting on top
where the engine was located.
Beta helicopters were equipped with different engines.
Some had Continental IO360E with 155 kilowatt capacity.
Others had Allison 250S18 or a Continental IO520
with 185 kilowatt capacity engines.
The registration records say that 32 Beta helicopters
were built, but it is doubtful all of them
were completed since in 1969 the Filper company closed.
(jaunty music)
- [Announcer] Number one.
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- [Glen] Designed and built circa 1979
by German designer Luigi Colani the Sea Ranger
is part off road utility vehicle, part camper,
and part amphibious watercraft.
The Sea Ranger was based on a Mercedes Unimog chassis
and running gear then wrapped in
a water tight amphibious shell.
The Sea Ranger also included an open interior
which had fantastic 360 degree views thanks
to large angled windows, a side ladder to allow
the occupants to climb up onto the roof,
a powerful radio antenna, and of course,
that single rear swiveling fishing seat
which was styled a bit like the iconic 70s egg seats.
Making its world debut at the 1980 Hanover Fair
the prototype of the Sea Ranger couldn't
draw enough interest to have it manufactured commercially
and is now housed at the Colani Design Museum.
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