Pützer Air Auto

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Between 1958 and 1963, Alfons Pützer KG created several airworthy vehicle designs by Alfons Pützer and Erich Ufer under the name Air Auto .

history

As early as 1917, Glenn Curtiss had designed the Curtiss Autoplane, the first airworthy automobile, which, however, could only do hops. The first successfully flown car aircraft with wings was the Waterman Arrowbile by Waldo Waterman from 1937. At the end of the 1940s, several promising approaches emerged, particularly in the USA, such as: B. the Taylor Aerocar from 1949 or the Convair Model 116 from 1946. With these developments, however, it remained with individual pieces, since at that time even down-to-earth passenger cars were still among the luxury goods with a limited group of buyers.

Car aircraft development by Erich Ufer and Alfons Pützer

Erich Ufer was already occupied with car aircraft during his studies. While working at Bölkow GmbH , Ufer worked on the development of a ring tail, for which Alfons Pützer provided the Pützer Bussard as a test vehicle. Ufer presented Ludwig Bölkow and Alfons Pützer in 1959 with the design of a car plane with retractable wings and a ring tail. Ludwig Bölkow showed little interest in the development. Alfons Pützer and Erich Ufer then continued to discuss the concept of the car airplane.

In the years 1958–1962, Alfons Pützer KG produced several Pützer car aircraft designs. All designs by Ufer and Pützer were designed in such a way that conversion from land to air version and vice versa was possible at any time. In addition, the car plane performed all components, such as B. removable wings with ground traffic. For this purpose, the Ufer / Pützer car planes had a double tail, which was extended to the rear from the side fronts of the body. Usually the two side fins of the tail unit were connected by a high horizontal stabilizer under which the wings were placed. The conversion should be able to be done by a single person in a few minutes and accordingly required lightweight construction methods for the wings.

Pützer Air Auto

Several approaches with pull and push propeller drives were developed under the name Air Auto. A key question for Pützer and Ufer was the realization of optimal traction for the vehicle while at the same time shaping for optimal lift of the aircraft. Most designs have a height-adjustable rear axle that is raised for vehicle operation and lowered for start-up. The first “Air Auto” drafts show folding wings that were folded in on the right and left of the chassis in traffic. Air Auto designs from 1961 show removable wings that could be placed under the horizontal stabilizer during ground traffic. The designs have a motor that drives the wheel axle in ground traffic and a propeller in the front for air traffic.

Pützer car plane No. 10

The Pützer car aircraft No. 10 from May 1961 is a completely new design. This two-seater was given a futuristic chassis typical of the early 1960s. The main innovation was the introduction of a second motor, which was installed in a drive nacelle on the roof of the car as an aircraft engine, while the drive motor remained in the conventional engine compartment. Alfons Pützer KG also made a number of wooden models of the number 10 car. In a later version of the draft from November 1962, a 180 hp aircraft engine and a 40 hp rotary engine were provided.

Pützer P.307B

The last known car airplane study by Alfons Pützer with the designation Pützer P.307B dates from June 1963. It is based on the draft 10 of the car airplane and for the first time refines the mounting device for the wings in the rear of the chassis. There is a project brochure for the Pützer P.307B, in which Alfons Pützer 1963 summarized the various aspects of car aircraft designs. The pictures and drawings in these documents show earlier drafts and models by Pützer drafts.

Shore Autofly P.307B

Erich Ufer later took up the design of the P.307B again and developed it further under the name "Autofly". The design differed from the previous Pützer design in that it had a lowered horizontal stabilizer, the outer thirds of which were angled in a V-shape and foldable. The lower horizontal stabilizer should serve for better storage of the wings when driving. Erich Ufer patented the Autofly in 1999. The last known designs by Erich Ufer for the car airplane are from 2004.

Technical specifications

Parameter Pützer Air Auto Car plane 10
crew 1 1
Passengers 2 1
length 6.70 m 6.35 m
span 9.20 m 9.00 m
height 1.90 m 1.80 m
Wing area 13.80 m² 12.50 m²
Center distance 2.90 m
Gauge 1.70 m 2.00 m
payload 450 kg 360 kg
Empty mass 750 kg 640 kg
Max. Takeoff mass 1200 kg 1000 kg
Cruising speed 200 km / h
Top speed air 220 km / h 240 km / h
Speed ​​limit road 115 km / h 110 km / h
Service ceiling 4500 m
Range 1000 km 1200 km
Engines 180 hp aircraft and 40 hp rotary engine

See also

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Thomas Vinciguerra, Flying Cars , New York Times, Apr. 11, 2009
  2. ^ Paul Zöller, Hanns-Jakob Pützer: Pützer aircraft . Norderstedt, 2018, ISBN 978-3-7481-2096-4 .
  3. ^ Alfons Pützer KG: Air Auto Design , 1961
  4. ^ Alfons Pützer KG: AFZ No. 10 , drawing from May 1962
  5. ↑ Alfons-Pützer-Homepage , image material car aircraft
  6. ↑ Google Patents - Ufer-Patent DE19958050A1, car airplane from 1999