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STRANGE GOODYEAR INFLATE-O-PLANE - DIDN'T MAKE IT
Goodyear Inflatoplane
From the people that brought you tires comes the inflatable plane. The premise was simple enough: a plane that could be quickly inflated into form and easily transported for use wherever necessary. Having already made that awesome blimp that everyone loves, Goodyear was more than capable of making such a device real and the project was underway in 1956. The U.S. Army sponsored the project, seeing the inflatoplane as a means to help soldiers behind enemy lines or to help Solid Snake escape from Shadow Moses.
The inflatoplane project was completed in twelve weeks. The final prototype was four feet high, nineteen feet long and sported a wingspan of twenty-eight feet. Able to inflate both quickly and easily, the craft was capable of reaching a delightful cruise speed of seventy miles per hour. Twelve inflatoplanes were built between 1955 and 1962 before the Army came the the startling realization that an escape plane that’s prone to deflation at the hands of stray bullets, shrapnel, birds in flight and a gentle breeze was probably not the best means to rescue those in dire need.
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