Bud Martin's strange designs: Paraplane, Air Car, Roadster...

[mz]

Amphibious flying Martin Air Car in some US museum (found on homebuiltairplanes.com that's now temporarily down, will get more info later). It demonstrated flying and traveling on water and ground.

 

[Stargazer]

The 1958 Martin Air Car (or what remains of it) can be seen at the Forney Transportation Museum in Denver, Colorado, which is described as "a one-of-a-kind collection of over 500 exhibits relating to historical transportation. It began with antique cars, but soon expanded to include vehicles of all kinds. Some of these are familiar, while others spark the imagination." No more info about this strange machine for now, but I think it's safe to say that it's got nothing to do with the established Martin Aircraft company.

The Martin Air Car can be seen in the background, behind the classic Amphicar.


- Mention of the Air Car: http://www.amphicar.com/museums.htm
- The Forney Transportation Museum: http://www.forneymuseum.com/

 

[walter]

Very interesting stuff on the Martin Air Car.
I wonder what the relationship is with the Martin Paraplane (see attached photo and also see www.aerofiles.com under the martin entry).
It seems to me that the external lines and the name Martin are more than a coincidence.

 

[Stargazer]

Thanks! Exact page is http://www.aerofiles.com/_ma.html, not the Martin Aircraft one.
The fact that a derivative version of the Paraplane was called the Roadster seems to confirm that we are probably in the presence of the same family of aircraft.

 

[mz]

Yes, the Martin Air Car has othing to do with the Glenn L. Martin company or its incarnations.

From Homebuiltairplanes.com:

Do I have a reply or what. My grandfather Ogden(Bud) Martin invented the Martin Air Car. Yes the car flew several times. It is amphibous since he was able to drive the car into a lake, drive it on the water and out back to the highway. My family has photos of it in flight and on the water. May even be some old recordings of it actually flying. My uncle Paul can be of assistance if you want his information.

http://www.homebuiltairplanes.com/forums/design-structures-cutting-edge-technology/6662-rotating-without-horizontal-sabilizer-2.html#post63275

 

[robunos]

The Martin Paraplane looks very similar to the Sawyer Skyjacker II,
although the latter is not a flying car...


cheers,
Robin.

 

[mrslauracc]

My grandfather Bud Martin invented the Martin Air Car in Fremont, Nebraska. It never did mould even after being in the water. Though it does have some damage my uncle Paul said from sitting in the old Forney Museum. My family does not have much footage of the air car flying and it looks as if someone does. That is something I would love to see. The footage we have was lost by a TV station in Omaha. Thanks for all the interest in the car. Also thank you to the person who notified me of this topic and this web site.

 

[Stargazer]

Topic split from the generic thread on flying cars.