Abstract: A roadable airplane consists of a single-seat three-wheeled vehicle with wing panels hung longitudinally on the sides of the chassis for road use and attached transversely to a spar box for flight. A power train is used that enables the simultaneous powering of two rear wheels and an overhead pusher propeller for transition from road to air travel. A transaxle for a four-wheel automotive vehicle was found to be advantageously suitable for this purpose. Multiple gears and differential outputs drive the wheels, providing a normal automotive performance on the road. Multiple gears are also available to drive the propeller, thereby providing the function of variable-pitch performance using a fixed-pitch propeller. The vehicle includes a standard automotive gear shift and pedal controls for clutch, brake and accelerator operation; a novel joystick assembly is used to steer the front wheel and to control wing flaps, an elevator and a rudder.

Abstract: A single-crystal solid oxide material, rather than a polycrystalline ceramic, is used for electrolytic and fuel-cell applications. For the electrolytic production of oxygen from carbon dioxide, a yttria-stabilized zirconia crystal is coated with platinum electrodes and encased in a platinum structure to provide a thermally stable electrolytic cell. A multilayered device is constructed by stacking crystals and spacers in alternating arrangement and by plumbing the active surfaces of the crystals in parallel through perforations drilled directly in the solid-oxide crystals, so that manifolding and sealing problems are minimized.