Oldest original flying car heads to auction
Hammer comes down this weekend in Atlanta, Ga.
Actual flying car, designed and built in 1935
by Frank Skroback, with 7-foot-wide wings
The weekend event will be held at Red Baron’s gallery facility located at 6450 Roswell Road in Atlanta.
According to an article on OldCarsWeekly.com's sister Web site, AntiqueTrader.com, the flying car is Frank Skroback’s roadable aircraft, built in 1935. Skrobach was a retired industrial technician and electrician from Syracuse, N.Y. He got the idea for a flying car while studying the concepts of the French furniture maker turned aircraft designer Henri Mignet, inventor of the tandem wing monoplane.
Skroback wanted to modify Mignet’s design, to build a vehicle that could be multi-purposed. He envisioned a craft that could be used on the ground or in the air, for going from house to house using the roads as runways. His design consisted of six fixed 7-foot-wide wings that could lift a 21-foot-long tubular steel fuselage and spruce wing panels, all wrapped in linen.
Also to be sold is a one-of-a-kind boat-car sculpture, a fantastic colossus titled Bonneville. It was executed in a retro American style and created in the spirit of adventure for a fictional character named Jack Wolf, who had many adventures in Days Gone By. At 16 feet long and 5 feet wide, the sculpture would make quite a statement (and a great conversation piece) for the bidder whose taste in art runs outside the box.
Boat-car sculpture titled Bonneville, developed for
fictional character Jack Wolf, 16 feet long
Also offered in the transportation category is a 1953 Ottoway Steamer amusement park train with seating for 15, once owned by Arto Monaco, the famed Hollywood set designer for Cinderella’s Castle at Disneyland. Monaco installed a Briggs & Stratton engine and used the train in his very own Land of Make Believe in Upper Jay, N.Y. It comes with enough track for a 60-ft. diameter loop.
Red Baron will also be offering a selection of classic and collector cars. Examples include a 1997 red Ferrari F355 Spider Convertible, with ostrich leather interior; a 1967 Volkswagen “Herbie” Beetle, beautifully restored; and a 1957 white Ford Thunderbird convertible, with both hard and soft tops. Also sold will be a 1975 Vespa Piaggio motorcycle.
Also under the hammer will be a vast array of fine architectural antiques (to include a large selection of bars and mantels), vintage lighting, garden embellishments and fine jewelry.
To learn more about Red Baron Antiques and to view many of the items to be sold in the March 13-14 auction, visit www.rbantiques.com. To register to bid for the auction, you may go online or call them at 404-252-3770. The e-mail address is info@rbantiques.com. - Photos courtesy Red Baron Antiques
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