“Stirrups For Your Speargun” headlined Popular Mechanics’ “It’s New Now” feature for September 1973. The author describes the apparently common pain point of loading and reloading one’s speargun while in the water, “a chore which can be both difficult and painful with the butt pressed against your chest.”
The remainder of the modern futurist totems run the gamut from the mundane (clear baby carriages and “fancy pliers in small sizes”) to the fantastical (motorized roller skates and a “mechanical babysitter”). Sandwiched between a “mechanical mole” and a silent hovercraft is an image of compact car taking flight courtesy of a pair of airplane wings.
“One of these days,” the piece hopefully notes, “you may be able to drive your car to a nearby airport, put on a pair of wings, fly to a distant city, then park the wings and drive on into town.”
Named for a second-magnitude star in the Big Dipper’s handle, AVE Mizar captured the public imagination before it was even airborne. Three decades after Henry Ford declare that “a combination of the airplane and motorcar is coming,” the promise finally appeared within grasp, and a car bearing his name formed its foundation.
On September 11, 1970, the Ford Motor Company introduced the world to its “Little Carefree Car.” Before the decade ended, the company was forced to recall 1.5 million of the vehicles – the largest of its kind in automotive history at the time. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration noted,
1971–1976 Ford Pintos have experienced moderate speed, rear-end collisions that have resulted in fuel tank damage, fuel leakage, and fire occurrences that have resulted in fatalities and non-fatal burn injuries ... The fuel tank design and structural characteristics of the 1975–1976 Mercury Bobcat which render it identical to contemporary Pinto vehicles, also render it subject to like consequences in rear-impact collisions.
Shortly after its release, however, the Pinto seemed an ideal candidate for building a flying car, primarily owing to its lightweight design. The car was outfitted with the rear and wings cut from a Cessna Skymaster. Flight controls were added to the dashboard and additional pedals were installed to the control the rudders. Both the car and plane engines were utilized during takeoff, while the car’s steering wheel controlled it in flight, as the Mizar hit a cruising speed of around 130 miles per hour.
AVE built five prototypes, one of which debuted at the Van Nuys Airport in May 1973, carrying the tagline, “A trip begins at ends at the doorstep.” Galpin was convinced. The local car dealer signed up to become a distributor, releasing a promotion video that humorlessly highlights missteps from the early days of aviation. It goes on to describe the inconvenience of renting a car at the airport, before noting, “There must be an easier way.” It adds,
The Mizar aircar was conceived by engineers who felt America’s need for a practical, safe, new style of transportation. Their achievement is a unique machine – simple to operate as an airplane, more convenient that any ordinary automobile.
The video showcases the Mizar in flight for a few seconds, quickly cutting to closeup of shots of a family of passengers (almost certainly taken on the ground) who appear to be gazing down on unrelated bird’s eye shots of Los Angeles freeways. AVE soon announced that production of the product would begin in 1974, priced between $18,300 to $29,000. The actual time the craft spent did in flight, however, understandably did little to persuade the public.
An August 1973 test flight found its pilot making an emergency landing in a nearby bean field, after the right wing’s attachment mechanism failed shortly after the plane took off. The base car was ultimately undamaged and was driven back to airport. The following month, however, another test wasn’t so lucky.
On September 11, Henry Smolinski filled in for regular test pilot, Charles "Red" Janisse. This time, the Mizar took off from the Oxnard airport, with Smolinski and fellow AVE cofounder Harold Blake in the Pinto. Roughly half-a-mile away from the airport, the craft “disintegrated” after making a right turn, nose diving into a pickup truck hauling a trailer. "One wing folded," a witness told The Oxnard Press-Courier "then the craft began racing to the ground, parts flying from it."
The truck driver left the scene uninjured. Both of AVE’s cofounders were killed on impact.
Sources:
Stirrups for Your Speargun https://books.google.com/books?id=LdQDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA113#v=onepage&q&f=false
Galpin Motors Mizar The Flying Pinto https://youtu.be/shUk8RIdy0g
Flying Automobile Crashes, Burns in Oxnard; 2 Killed https://www.newspapers.com/clip/82856753/ave-mizar-flying-pinto/
History's Greatest Automotive Mysteries, Myths and Rumors Revealed By Matt Stone, Preston Lerner