Archive for February, 2023

Flymall January 2023 Wheels & Wings Newsletter

Wednesday, February 1st, 2023

Welcome to the Kraemer Aviation/Flymall.org Wheels & Wings Newsletter.

This month is all about “Amphibious” vehicles.

You can view past newsletters here.


Interested in living at an airport?  Visit our Aviation Real Estate page here. You can view price data for airport property in our Market Watch section of the Flymall. Here is the data for all airport property. You can refine the search by “state” simply by searching for the desired state under “Model”.

Want to have your business highlighted on the Flymall???  We offer inexpensive rates to have your business featured on our Wheels & Wings page.  Contact us for more info.

History Trivia: Did you know??? The dashboard is a board on the front of a horse carriage meant to keep mud from kicking up on the passengers when the horse dashes. And over time it came to mean the front part of anything, as even a computer interface is sometimes called a dashboard. The first known use of the term (hyphenated as dash-board, and applied to sleighs) dates from 1847.

If you enjoy history we have a new aviation history fact each day at the bottom of our webpages.  Some days there may be more than one, just refresh the page.  And if you like Beatles history, checkout our Events Calendar and select the Beatles category.  This is a work in progress, we’re building the most comprehensive calendar of important dates in Beatle history.  For those that like to stick with current news, we have an aviation news ticker on our home page.  This is updated daily to show the current aviation news.

In the early 1900s, gasoline powered vehicles were still relatively new. A lot of manufacturers were conducting trips to show how reliable their vehicles were. On January 31st 1913, a Henderson motorcycle completed an ocean to ocean trip across the United States. The three riders had left Atlantic City, NJ on September, 20 1912 to promote the Henderson motorcycle and ended up in Los Angeles on January 31st. The motorcycle and Baxter wicker sidecar were said to have withstood the months long mostly off-road trip excellently.

Achievements & Special Recognition: WaterCar – Manufacturer of World’s Fastest Amphibious get our special recognition this month. They build some awesome amphibious vehicles. Checkout their site for more information.

Instructors, what to highlight your students first solo or other achievement here?  Just send us a short write-up and a picture or two and we’ll post it here for you.  Click here for our contact info.

Aviation/Aviators in the news: The NBAA’s International Operators Conference will be held February 13 to 15 in Austin Texas. This year they’re celebrating 50 years for the conference. If you’re a global operator of a biz jet, this is the conference to attend. Lot’s of good information to be shared.

The aviation section of the Flymall is full of aviation news, training info, and much more for the aviator.

Air show season is always just around the corner.  Want to travel to air shows in your own aircraft?  Visit our used aircraft page on the Flymall to view our inventory.

Car/Motorcycle Show News:   The Laytonsville Cruise In is the place to be on a Friday night in Montgomery County.  The Laytonsville Cruise In was started by Harry in 2010. It has become one of the most popular cruise ins in the area. You can follow Harry on Facebook for daily updates during the many shows and events he attends.

We have a one owner 1969 Jaguar E-Type (XKE) for sale. We just has the car professionally detailed and it looks great. This is a true classic that will be a hit at any car show this summer. Click here for more information.

1932 Amphibious bike ‘Cyclomer’. The design which has received the most coverage is “Saidullah’s Bicycle.” The Cyclomer launched in Paris in 1932 was the world’s first amphibious bicycle. A HYBRID among vehicles, an amphibian bicycle that can travel on land or water, was demonstrated by its French inventor at a Paris exposition. Its wheels are hollow, bulbous floats that, with-the aid of four smaller globes on outriggers, sustain it in the water. All of the floats revolve freely like wheels, resulting in a minimum of drag. When the rider pedals across the water, fins on the rear wheel serve as paddles to drive the machine forward. For a ride on dry land, the outriggers supporting the outer floats may be folded up clear of the ground. Proof that the floats would be sufficiently buoyant to support the rider was given when the inventor navigated his device, without difficulty, across a large swimming pool. The Cyclomer  uses a simple tricycle frame to support three floaters which provide both the flotation and thrust. The wings on the powered wheels propel the vehicle in a similar way to a paddle wheel.

If you have been to a few car shows, we’re sure that you have seen a few Volkswagens. Here’s a Volkswagen that saw action in WWII that you probably have not seen at a car show. The Volkswagen Schwimmwagen. This is a four-wheel drive amphibious vehicle, used by the German ground forces during WWII. It is the go anywhere VW. Volkswagen Schwimmwagens used the engine and mechanicals of the VW Type 86 four-wheel drive prototype of the Kübelwagen and the Type 87 four-wheel drive ‘Kübel/Beetle’ Command Car, which in turn were based on the platform of the civilian Volkswagen Beetle. Schwimmwagens were produced by the Volkswagen factory at Fallersleben /Stadt des KdF-Wagens and Porsche’s facilities in Stuttgart; with the bodies or hulls produced by Ambi Budd in Berlin. 15,584 Type 166 Schwimmwagen were produced from 1941 through 1944; 14,276 at Fallersleben and 1,308 by Porsche; the VW 166 is the most-produced amphibious car in history. Only 189 are known by the Schwimmwagen Registry to remain today, and only 13 have survived without restoration work. Click on the image for a larger view.

Our Events Calendar has the most current info regarding local and national car shows, air shows, and more.  With nearly 30 categories, there is something for everyone.  The Day Tripper section of the Flymall has dozens of day trip ideals and interesting places to visit.  Check it out here.

Here’s a 1966 Dolphin, a Russian amphibious car. There was no information online regarding this vehicle other than this picture.

We found an amphibious bus that is used in Scotland.

The last of the air-cooled Sportsters. 2022 was the last year for this iconic bike. Harley Davidson discontinued the air cooled Sportster. The 2023 model is a liquid-cooled bike with a new name.

Earlier this month, the Flymall team attended the first winter luncheon for our local car club. Bruno was our guest speaker. He spoke about his shop and some of the work that he does on classic and custom cars.

We were also at the first bike night of 2023 at the local Harley Davidson dealer. The 2023 models are on the showroom floor. Click here for more pictures.

An annual event in the area is the Howard County Motorcycle Swap meet. This is held indoors in a heated building at the Howard County Fairgrounds. This year the show was very well attended. It seems people are getting over Covid and are ready to move on. Click here for more pictures from the event.

Barn Finds/Hangar Finds:  Need an appraisal on your barn find?  Visit our Appraisal Page for information on our appraisals. 

Here’s something. 1988 KSM Prototype Monotrack Tracked All Terrain Vehicle. This unusual vehicle is believed to be a one-off all-terrain vehicle built by KSM Innovations of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It is powered by a Honda ATC125 engine that is connected to a one piece track drive system. KSM was working with Honda to develop the vehicle, but Honda pulled out due to design flaws. Click here for a YouTube video of it in action. Tracked motorcycles are more common place that you would think. The Hamyak mono-track ATV is one that is relatively new. During WWII, the Kettenkrad was a successful tracked vehicle. They were built by NSU for the German military between 1939 and 1944..

Visit our online store to search for hard to find car parts, aircraft parts, and much more.  You can pay online in our secure store, just click on the Store button on our home page.

Visit the Test Drive section of the Flymall for reviews on automobiles, aircraft, motorcycles, and more. Read about it before you buy it.  You can also research price info on a wide variety of vehicles, collectibles, and more in the Market Watch section of the Flymall. 

If you’re restoring a fabric aircraft, Ira Walker of Walker Aviation is your resource.  Visit his page on the Flymall by clicking here

CFI / DPE Notes:  Visit Harry’s Practical Test page for information on his checkrides.  You will also find useful information there to help you prepare for your checkride.  You can also visit Harry’s Lesson Plan section of the Flymall for other flight training information.  Visit our Flight Training page for information on our aviation training classes.

On January 30, Bryan passed his CFII checkride with Harry. He did an excellent job. He was very well prepared for the test. We wish him much success in his aviation career. He did the checkride in a plane that Harry sold new back when he was the aircraft sales manager for Frederick Aviation.

Weather in the news: January 12 storm system.

January 25, 2023 brought us another large storm system. Here are a few pictures of it as it progressed.

Three Wheel Association (TWA) & 3-Wheelers.com:  Harry started the Three Wheel Association in 2013 to promote/support the industry of three wheel vehicles of all types. Visit the Three Wheel Association page on the Flymall for more info on the association.

Here’s a cool pedal power three wheeler we found online. It looks very simple, perhaps these were built from plans offered in a magazine.

Want a reproduction vintage 3 wheeler.  Walker Aviation can scratch built from pictures or drawings.  Visit his page on the Flymall.  

Prototypes: On December 1 2022, Textron delivered the first prototype of the 6×6 Cottonmouth wheeled amphibious reconnaissance vehicle to the U.S. Marine Corps. This is one of two designs competing to become the Corps’ next Advanced Reconnaissance Vehicle or ARV. Variants of the winning ARV are slated to succeed the service’s four-decade-old Light Armored Vehicle, or LAV, family of vehicles. This looks very cool to us.

Click on image for a larger view

Nautical Notes: The Tupolev A-3 Aerosledge. An amphibious vehcile, designed to transport passengers and light freight in remote areas of the Soviet Union.  It uses a single pusher propeller mounted behind the enclosed cabin to propel the craft over snow or water. Year-round transportation of mail, passengers, and light freight has always been a problem in remote areas of Siberia and Eastern Europe. Many communities are surrounded by deep snow, hummock ice, marshes that remain unfrozen, and natural waterways choked by weeds. The constantly changing conditions faced by these communities required the development of a vehicle capable of traveling over a widely varied surface at high speeds in order to deliver mail and supplies, as well to transport passengers, and provide emergency medical relief and evacuation to hospitals. To satisfy these requirements, the Tupolev Design Bureau developed an amphibious aerosledge with the appearance of a speedboat, powered by a single radial engine.

The Manta5 HYDROFOILER XE-1, is basically a hybrid bicycle and hydrofoil. They’re cool but pricey. At just under $9,000 USD, its a toy for the rich.

If you’re into ice fishing, we found the perfect vehicle for you. Meet the WilCraft. It’s an amphibious vehicle with an enclosure that is designed for ice fishing. Very cool!

This cool 3 wheel boat (that can also be driven on the road) was posted on 3-wheelers.com Facebook page. This is a Reliant frame and drivetrain with the speedboat mounted on top. Click on each picture for a larger view.

Riding The Rails: Our theme this month is amphibious vehicles and this section is dedicated to trains. So it makes sense that we have an amphibious train here and we did find one. This amphibious train is designed so that a railroad can convert any of its engines and cars to be able to float and be used in the water. We’re not sure if there are any actual applications of one in use. The installation consists of a water intake on the front of each unit, a propeller for propulsion in the water on the back of each unit, a rudder for steering on the back of each unit, and many inflatable airbags. Emergency airbags will be installed on top, in case the train begins to sink.

We did find a Russian train that was amphibious and may have been in use at one time. Click on the images below for a larger view.

Here’s a different type of “amphibious” train. Here’s a car that drives on the road and is also equipped with rail wheels to be driven on train tracks. This is a 1956 Pontiac Hy-Rail.

Click on image for a larger view

Native American Indian Transportation: Many native American Indians used dog sleds for transportation. Although dog sledding may have existed before, the oldest archeological evidence of this mode of transportation has been dated to around 1,000 A.D.

We did find an interesting video of an amphibious sled being pulled by reindeer. Click here for the video on Facebook.

Animals in the headlines: Here’s a dog powered “vehicle” we found online. We could not find any details on it, just the picture. In theory, it should work! Its like a giant hamster wheel.

We close this newsletter with these words: Live your life, take chances. Because, right now is the oldest you’ve ever been and the youngest you will be ever again.

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