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A tailless, two-seat, single-engine, pusher configuration roadable aircraft was built in the US in the late 1930s, the Waterman Arrowbile, and was one of the first of its kind. However, Waldo Waterman’s invention generated little customer interest. Only five were produced, one slightly different from the other, especially in the bodywork. The prototype in 1932, named “Whatsit” for his unconventional design, opened the way to the “Arrowbile” in 1935 designed and built for a contest announced by the US department of commerce. It was a low swept-wing monoplane with fins near its wingtips. The Whatsit also featured a wing-mounted tricycle undercarriage and a trim foreplane, and it was powered by a 100 hp (75 kW) Kinner K-5 5-cylinder radial pusher engine. In May 1935, Waterman completed a submission to the government-funded Vidal Safety Airplane competition. This was the Arrowplane, sometimes known as the W-4. This adopted a similar layout to the Whatsit but had a strut-braced high wing on a blunt-nosed, narrow fuselage pod with a tricycle undercarriage mounted under it. Its wings had wooden spars and metal ribs and were fabric-covered, with triangular endplate fins carrying upright rudders. Its fuselage was steel framed and aluminum covered. It was powered by a 95 hp (71 kW) inverted inline 4-cylinder Menasco B-4 Pirate pusher engine mounted high in the rear of the fuselage. Stay tuned to see the Arrowbile! Visit: #arrowbile #waterman #flyingcar #classiccar #storycars #carvideo #carvideos #1935 ▪️Send an email for credit or removal requests (no copyright intended). All rights and credits are reserved to the respective owner(s).▪️ Video Source: via Smithsonian, discovered on TikTok
