http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodyear_Inflatoplane
http://www.aero-web.org/locator/manufact/goodyear/ao-3.htm
http://davidszondy.com/future/Flight/rubber_plane.htm
http://collections.nasm.si.edu/code/emuseum.asp?style=browse¤trecord=1&page=search&profile=objects&searchdesc=inflatoplane&quicksearch=inflatoplane&newvalues=1&newstyle=single&newcurrentrecord=1
Beyond 2000 | Transport-Air | Blowing Up An Aircraft
Goodyear GA-33 Inflate-0-Plane
Beyond 2000 | Transport-Air | INFLATABLE PLANE (TV)
ONR-CIA Airplane, Pneumatic
Inflatoplane
FF.mbox FreeFlightDigest #492 - 08-30-97
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AAHS Vol 45, Number 2, Summer 2000 - Goodyear
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Inflatoplane - message thread
Aircraft Goodyear XAO-2 Inflatoplane

Inflatoplane?

Last night I was rifling through my assorted books/magazines/etc (looking for some obsure fact I have since forgotten) and came across something quite funny... Are any of the FAC / scale type modellers familiar with the Goodyear Aircraft Corp. 'Inflatoplane'? I have a copy of an info sheet which describes this craft along with several pictures. Basically it is an inflatable airplane. It's a high wing, single seat monoplane with a small pusher prop engine mounted above the wing. The pilot (or is that the victim..) sits at the front of the aircraft in the open breeze. It all collapses into a neat little package with minimal rigid framework...looks like it would fit in a large trunk/storage box...approx. 3ft X 4ft X 3ft. The most interesting this is that the wings are collapsible rubber. The text describes the material as 'Airmat'. There is a photo showing two men standing on the wing as the plane sits on the runway...quite rigid for an inflatable plane. There isn't a date on the copy I have, but it looks to be 1950's vintage from the clothing the men are wearing. There you have it...a new scale project "A preview of the Magic Carpet for Tomorrow" Goodyear Aircraft Corp., Akron OH John McClure

Re: Inflatoplane?

There was a segment of a Discovery Channel Wings program on this aircraft which included taking it out of its container, assembling it, and flying it. Dave Diels Diels Engineering, Inc. P.O. Box 263 Amherst, OH 44001, USA email dielsengr@kellnet.com

Re: Inflatoplane?

Hi John, I saw this thing on TV a few years ago. Couple of GIs drove up, off-loaded the "trunk", unfolded the deflated plane and one guy got to work with a bicycle pump! Eventually the thing began to take shape, at which point the second GI got on the pump and the first raised the hinged pylon which held the motor and gas tank and secured it to eyelets on the wing with four strands of braided wire. I would imagine that it took the two of them at least half an hour to pump the thing up but it all happened in about five minutes of air time. Eventually one of the unfortunates strapped himself into the plane, the other spun the prop, and the rubber express wobbled into the wild blue yonder. There was an air to air shot, the pilot appearing to be somewhere in the middle of a dozen large doughnuts flying in loose formation. But it did indeed fly. Sorry I can't remember the name of the show. If anyone is seriously interested a query to Goodyear might bring some results although I think they might just as soon forget the whole thing. Dick

Re: Inflatoplane?

This one caught my eye too. I saw one on display at the Patuxent River Naval Air Station museum. I think I took some pictures of it. I'll try to dig them out if you're interested. It sort of looks like a big model. The tail surfaces are pretty much flat with rounded edges. I'm not sure what to you would use to get the "look and feel" of the inflatable parts though. Blue foam maybe? I think it would be fun to try with a HiLine or Kenway direct drive for power. Bob M Maggie & Bob Marchese bmarches@erols.com

Re: Inflatoplane?

G'day The UK Aeroplane Monthly for October 1985 (pages 518/519)has a short article, with photographs, on the Goodyear Inflatoplanes. The November 1974 issue of the same magazine (pages 954 to 957)has a description of a contemporary British effort with an inflatable delta wing with an underslung box. Regards, Chris Greenwood