Friday
03Jul2009
Inventors Die Testing "Flying Pinto" (1973)
Friday, July 3, 2009 at 11:37AM ;)
Remember a few months back when I made a joke about how dangerous a flying Ford Pinto would be? Well, in 1973 two inventors actually tried to create such a flying vehicle, and died while testing it. The article from the September 12, 1973 Press-Telegram (Long Beach, CA) is below.
Known as "the flying Pinto," a combination of a Ford Pinto auto and Cessna airplane, the prototype plunged to earth about a mile from Ventura County Airport late Tuesday afternoon.
Killed were Henry A. Smolinski, 40, Santa Susana, and Harold Blake, 40, Los Angeles. They were the founders and top two officers of Advanced Vehicle Engineers, launched at Van Nuys in 1968.
;)
Previously on Paleo-Future:
- The Inevitable Flying Car (USA Today)
- "Aerocar" Hits the Road (1950)
- The Future of the Helicopter (1955)
tagged cars, flying, flying cars, ford, transportation in 1970s
cars, flying, flying cars, ford, transportation in 1970s 
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Reader Comments (6)
see Wikipedia - AVE Mizar
I imagine Advanced Vehicle Engineers closed it's doors soon after.
The two most deadly words ever combined:
Flying Pinto.
Could this be the origins of the "rocket-powered car in a cliff" urban legend that is such a darling of the Mythbusters?
Crazy memories... I was ten when this thing crashed in Oxnard. I was watching it fly over our house on Coronado and the wings just folded up. The engine powered up with a big roar then it disappeared in the eucalyptus tree line. I raced my bike over to the crash which was just off of Gonzales in Oxnard. Big mistake on my part... it was my first experience of human life tragedy. I’ll never forget it!
I find this whole Flying Pinto program very fascinating.Dark Daddy,its amazing you were there when it crashed.I would welcome any further details on the crash itself.Imagine....an eye witness to the Mizar crash! Wow.
Those poor inventors who perished,however,at least it happened BEFORE they started selling them...imagine a whole fleet of them crashing in nearly every state in the nation.Dangerous!