Airway (automobile)
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The Airway was an American
microcar Microcar is a term often used for the smallest size of cars, with three or four wheels and often an engine smaller than . Specific types of microcars include bubble cars, cycle cars, invacar, quadricycles and voiturettes. Microcars are ofte ...
with two seats, made by Everett Miller and T. P. Hall, and Clarence O Lee was a loaned engineer between 1949 and 1950 in
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,
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
. It had an all-
aluminum Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...
body and
chassis A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of a manufactured object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpart ...
and an
air-cooled Air-cooled engines rely on the circulation of air directly over heat dissipation fins or hot areas of the engine to cool them in order to keep the engine within operating temperatures. Air-cooled designs are far simpler than their liquid-cooled ...
10 hp (7 kW) Onan engine mounted at the back. Normally it would only use a single fluid-drive speed, plus an emergency
low gear A gear train or gear set is a machine element of a mechanical system formed by mounting two or more gears on a frame such that the teeth of the gears engage. Gear teeth are designed to ensure the pitch circles of engaging gears roll on each oth ...
.


History

Hall had attempted several times to make a flying car, but stuck with a more conventional design for this car. The streamlined styling was considered to be modern and quite appealing, and its tiny wheels made the car look larger than it actually was. It used a large amount of
aluminum Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...
and plastic to reduce its weight. Its
wheelbase In both road and rail vehicles, the wheelbase is the horizontal distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels. For road vehicles with more than two axles (e.g. some trucks), the wheelbase is the distance between the steering (front ...
was in length ( all told) and wide. Only two are known to have been made, one of the coupe and one of the sedan, though a number of photographs exist.


Model details

Body type – Shipping weight – Factory price 2-door Sedan - - US$750 2-door coupe - - US$750


References

{{reflist


External links


Photo
Microcars Cars introduced in 1949