Traffic plagues modern cities and their suburbs. But what if it was possible to take to the air on a very short flight, zipping above the city and avoiding all those congested roads? In 1963, executives of the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation imagined a flying bus of the future. They called it the LiftLiner.
The LiftLiner was to incorporate vertical take-off and landing technology. Air Force and NASA research suggested that soon engines would be powerful enough to lift as many as 60 passengers straight up into the air. The LiftLiner would then propel them to their destination, setting them down gently on a landing pad. Lockheed executives expected that LiftLiners would travel along a fixed route - a sort of aerial subway.
LiftLiner technology would eliminate the need for runways, and LiftLiners would be constructed of ultralightweight materials. Wings would practically be eliminated, and the landing gear would be replaced by sponge rubber pads. Despite the heady dreams of Lockheed executives, plans for the LiftLiner were never realized.
Learn more in the Eugene L. Vidal papers at UW’s American Heritage Center