'Drivable plane' developed by Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation, United States, 1945

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Photograph. 'Drivable plane' developed by Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation. Official Caption: "8/14/45 Roadable plane. S-7770-D. After 100 hours of successful test flying, a small aircraft has made its appearance in the U.S. developed by Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation, the tiny ship is moved by a pushor [sic] propeller located in the rear of the fuselage and has a controllable wing which eliminates all ailerons, rudders and elevators. The now Spratt Wing, named after its developer, George Spratt, tilts and banks as a complete unit, somewhat after the manner of a tight-rope walker's balancing umbrella. It is attached by two universal joints at the end of a pair of pivot bars ewtending [sic] upward from the cabin. A forward push of the control stick tilts the leading edge of the wing downward, causing the plane to glide. Pulling the stick produces climb. When the stick is swung to the right or left the wing banks and turns slightly, turning the ship correspondingly. Two advantages are claimed for this type of wing: economy is achieved by elimination of cable controls and their fixtures; and this may be a safety feature as well. Learning to fly is simplified because of the unified control. The cab of the plane is fairly standard, except that it ends at the rear in a fixed fin and mounts on four wheels rather than three, arranged somewhat like an auto. This similarity to a passenger car makes it apparent that the developing firm is thinking of the ship as a possible solution for the "roadable plane" idea. This type of plane would drive like a car on the road and would mount its detachable wing at the airport for flying between cities. (Photograph courtesy Business Week) Serviced through U. S. I. S. Rome." United States. 14 August 1945

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08/14/1945
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Items from the service of Isaac "Ike" Bethel Utley, who was born in Smith Mills, Kentucky on 3 March 1920. Ike enlisted in the Army Air Corps on 19 January 1942. He was shipped overseas to the European Theatre and worked with a supply division based out of the city of Naples with an office set up in a residential villa. Utley worked with the Office of War Information and used their photographs in news articles to inform soldiers of the progress of the war. At war's end, Utley returned stateside. A trunk full of over 800 photographs from the O.W.I. arrived on his doorstep from his office in Italy, sender unknown. This collection consists of those photographs.
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Airplanes--American--United States