“See photos.” Curtiss Wright 1958 This might be the last aircraft built by the Curtiss Wright.
Item specifics Condition: | Used |
Seller Notes: | “See photos.” |
| Make: | Curtiss Wright | Model Year: | 1958 |
This might be the last aircraft built by the Curtiss Wright Corporation. I believe this was built in 1958. I saw this Hovercraft (officially called the Curtiss Wright Aircar") operate at the test lots at Curtiss Wright in Woodridge New Jersey. It was very loud, blew a lot of dust, and made wide sweeping turns. It could never make a normal left or right hand turns on city streets. The project was abandoned and it was donated to the Teterboro School of Aeronautics. The School put it up for sale in 1980 and I purchased it from the School and have had it ever since. It is currently located within five miles of the then Curtiss Wright manufacturing facility in Woodridge New Jersey. This Hovercraft has on board the original two Lycoming O-360 Carbureted vertically mounted engines. We have all doors. One is in storage and is not in the photos. Obviously, this Hovercraft is not operational. There have never been any attempts to restore this Hovercraft so all of the components it has are the original Curtiss Wright parts. The vehicle sits on the original trailer. The Hovercraft is all aluminum and sheet metal. The upper cowling is fiberglass and is cracked as shown in photos. Remember Glenn Curtiss and the Wright Brothers eventually became the Curtiss Wright Corporation and since Curtiss Wright did not build aircraft after WWII this technically is the last aircraft built by Curtiss Wright. I believe this Hovercraft technology was first developed for military applications. After that attempt was abandoned, Curtiss Wright attempted to build these for the civilian market. After watching how this flew, it is not surprising that the civilian project was also abandoned. To my knowledge, two civilian Hovercrafts of this type were built by Curtiss Wright around 1958. I was told that the other civilian Aircar of this type was accidentally destroyed during the test of a jet engine in close proximity to the Aircar. This one survived and is now being offered to a serious collector. To see one of these actually fly by a very courageous flight crew, go to YouTube and type in "Curtiss Wright Hovercraft" and you can see one of these fly on Daytona Beach. THIS IS SOLD AS-IS, WHERE IS IN NOTHERN NEW JERSEY. BUYER RESPONSIBLE FOR SHIPPING. NO RETURNS. COMES WITH AIRCAR AND THE ORIGINAL DUEL AXEL TRAILER THAT IS SEEN IN THE PHOTOS.
PLEASE CONTACT ME THROUGH EBAY MESSAGES WITH ANY QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS VERY UNIQUE OFFERING.
Current date: 2015-10-25
