Waterman Aerobile

In 1934, the Bureau of Air Commerce recognized the Waterman Arrowplane as one of the two award-winning designs for its flivver (i.e., light, easy-to-fly and affordable) aircraft competition. Waldo Waterman's improved Arrowplane, the Aerobile #6, fulfilled his dream of designing a tailless roadable airplane.The Aerobile was a two-place, high-wing, cabin monoplane with a transmission drive system that operated the propeller in the air and the rear wheels on the ground. The one-piece wing was removed by moving a lever and pins. Painted in "Buick blue," it had many standard Studebaker, Ford, Austin, and Willys automobile parts to keep the price down and maintain the look of a car. It received FAA certification in the experimental category in 1957, but no market materialized.