The Revolutionary 250 mph Low Cost Aircar Mass Transportation System will offer economical 24-hour, all-year, all-weather IFO container, military and passenger service at fares and freight rates less than 1/2 the cost of air transportation because the air cushion vehicles will be traveling at ground level instead of having to be supported at 35,000 feet. The proposed air cushion (airfilm) Air Buses and Air Freighters will also be able to travel by electrically wheel driven or by a Linear Induction Conduit Power Slot on exclusive lanes on the interstates, freeways, and surface streets directly to their respective destinations.

Park and ride terminals and freight facilities will be located adjacent or near the Interstate or International Highways for convenient passenger boarding, freight transfer and loading. The Aircar Mass Transportation System will interface with al existing air, rail, trucking, sea ports, miltiary and commerical passenger facilities. The Aircar Mass Transportation System can be built within a 5 to 10 year time frame at a cost of less than 10 million dollars per mile utilizing Our Nation's paid-for Interstate Highway System and currently available aircushion and aerospace technology, privately or publically financed from Federal Defense, Highway, and Airport Funds, etc., which will yield billions of dollars in revenues for Our Nation!

A model of the Aircar Mass Transportation System has been presented to the President and Congress of the United States of America in l997 by the Author, Harry A. Laufman.

Proposed High Speed/High Capacity Interstate and International Aircar Container Freight, Military, Bus and Individual Passenger Routes include:

LOS ANGELES TO THE EAST COAST:
Los Angeles-Palmdale Regional Airport (Los Angeles Department of Airports) connecting with Metrolink to Los Angeles Union Station (Los Angeles, California) and IFO Container Route from Terminal Island, Port of Los Angeles/Long Beach to Palmdale, California, East to Barstow, California on California Highways 14, 58. East on I-40 and I-44 to St. Louis and East on I-70, I-76, I-81 the Newark Airport, New Jersey and to Port of New York/New Jersey. Connecting link from St Louis, Missouri to Chicago Midway Airport via I-55.

LOS ANGELES to ALASKA:
Los Angeles (Union Station) to Anchorage and Fairbanks, Alaska via I-15 to Las Vegas, Nevada; Salt Lake City, Utah; Twin Falls, Idaho; Helena, Montana to Calagary and Edmonton, Canada and the Alcan Highway to Fairbanks and Anchorage, Alaska.

LOS ANGELES TO SOUTH AMERICA:
Los Angeles Ontario Airport connecting to Union Station and LA-Long Beach Harbor Facilities, east to Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona via I-10 south to Nogalos, Mexico to Mexican Highway 15 to Mazatlan and Guadalajara (connecting to Mexico City). South to Manzanillo and Acapulco (connecting to Mexico City), south on a West Coast Route to Guatemala; San Salvador, El Salvador; Choluteca, Honduras, Managua, Nicaragua; San Jose, Costa Rica to Panama to Columbia with a connecting route to Caracas, Venezuela and south to Quito, Equador and to Lima, Peru (Port of Callao), connecting from Lima, Peru to Brazil via La Paz, Bolivia to Sao Paulo, Brazil. South from Lima, Peru to Santiago/Valpariso, Chile and East over the Andes Mountains to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Alternative Route from Chicago {Midway Airport) to Oklahoma City (I-55) (I-44) south on I-35 to Austin, San Antonio and Laredo, Texas south to Monterrey, Mexico City, Mexico. From Mexico City southwest to Alcapulco, Mexico and south to Guatemala and South America. North to Alaska from Chicago on I-94 and I-15.

AUSTRALIA: Brisbane to Sidney, Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide to Perth, Australia. North from Adelaide to Alice Springs to Darwin, Australia. All Routes on High Speed Elevated Air Ramps.

INDIA: Bombay To New Delhi To Calcutta on High Speed Elevated Air Ramps.

These proposed Aircar Routes are merely starting points.

Harry A. Laufman

References:

The Encyclopedia Britannica, The Bertin Aerotrain; Janes Surface Skimmers, 1970-1976; The High Speed Ground Transportation Act of 1965, Reports 1 to 10 to The United States Congress; The High Speed Ground Transportation Journal; Time Magazine, April 26, 1963, Flight International Magazine April 23, 1964 (Air Cushion Vehicle Supplement, page 49) and Popular Science Magazine, July 1963, August 1964 "Air Dart Wins World's First Hovercraft Race!" March 14, 1964, Lake Burley Griffin, Canberra, Austalia; Popular Mechanics Magazine, May 1967; Los Angeles Times, June 1, 1975, September 1, 1982 (View Section- Electric Aircar); LA Daily News (Valley News) August 28,1977; Glendale News Press (Front Page) November 27, 1976; Los Angeles City Council File No. 75-122 (LA City Council adopted The Aircar Mass Transportation System by resolution for a commuter demonstration project on July 10, 1975); NASA Lewis Resarch Center Study on Gas Turbines; General Motors Engineering Journal, Fourth Quarter, 1966; Aviation Week and Space Technology, The General Electric CF-34 Turbo Fan Jet, January 13, 1997, Page 104, June 16, 1997, Page 120; Harry A. Laufman, United States Patents, No. 3,401,766, No. 3,777,842 and No. 771,310. The author, Harry A. Laufman has over 48 years experience in the design, development, production and world wide marketing of aircushion vehicles and served as Aircushion Consultant to the US Government (Litton Industries) on the Fast Logistical Ship Project in 1966.

The revolutionary prototype Electric Aircushion Vehicle (pictured above) was designed and built by Harry A. Laufman in 1976, Author and Designer of the Aircar Mass Transportation System* Registered Copyright 1978, to demonstrate the feasiblity and adaptabilty of currently available air cushion (air film)and hybrid electric technology on Our Nation's present surface streets and interstate highways. The unique protoype Electric Aircar is electrically wheel driven by a simple push button automatic continuous varible drive and air supported by two standard centrifugal blowers with electric motors powered by batteries and/or 10 hp fuel generator. Only 10 percent of the vehicle's weight is neccessary to be maintained on the rubber tired wheels for traction under normnal driving conditions. The prototype Electric Aircar with safety foam bumper is approximately 11 feet long by 5 1/2 feet wide. A platform supports the body structure with removable canopy, dashboard, seats, batteries, fuel generator and two electric centrifical lift blowers, etc. A flexible, doughnut-shaped airfilm skirt is mounted to the platform to form a U Shape attached to a metal rod which is suspended from the bottom of the platform. A flexible electric wheel driven undercarriage with a continuous electric variable drive system is attached and suspended from the center of the bottom of the platform. The Electric Aircar can be driven powered by a fuel generator in combination with and/or batteries. ie Hybrid Electric Aircushion (Airfilm) Vehicle. The proposed hybrid electric technology can be also applied to conventional rubber tired vehicles. See The Revolutionary Solar Mobile Car See also General Motors Volt, Railroad Locomotives, World War II Submarines, etc.

The Electric Aircar was demonstrated using only 4 standard 12 volt lead acid batteries on the Streets of Los Angeles, San Diego and other cities throughout Southern California and was featured as "The Car of the Future" on television and at the Los Angeles Auto Show held at The Los Angeles Convention Center, November 10-14,1976. See Los Angeles Times, September 1, 1982 and LA Daily News, August 28, 1977.

The Author and Inventor, Harry A. Laufman holds three United States Patents and has over 48 years experience in reseach, development, marketing, and manufacturing of aircushion vehicles (The Air Dart) world wide in 1963. See Time Magazine, April 26, 1963; Mechanix Illustrated, September l963. The Air Dart powered by a 8-10hp go-kart engine won the World's First Hovercraft Race held at Canberra, Australia on March 14, 1964. See Flight International Magazine, Air Cushion Vehicles Supplement, April 23, 1964 and Popular Scinence Magazine, August 1964. Mr. Laufman demonstrated his prototype aircusion vehicle at the General Motors Technical Center at Warren, Michigan in 1965 and has served as an Aircushion Consultant to the United States Government in 1966. A model of the Aircar Mass Transportation System has been presented to the President and Congress of the United States of America in 1997 by Mr. Laufman. Mr.Laufman received a BA Degree from Claremont Men's College in 1955 (Now Claremont McKenna College) and attended Graduate Schools at Northwestern University and University of Southern California.

The Universal Electric Power Slot as proposed and copyrighted in 1978 by Inventor and Author Harry A. Laufman incoporates the use of an efficient Vehicle Plow Blade Pick Up with (2)440 to 750 DC Volt Power Rails (2) Slot Guidance Rails with Guidance Wheels attached to the Vehicle Pickup Plow Blade for Vehicle guidance all contained within a simple Conduit Slot located beneath the roadway or guideway surface for the propulsion, guidance, charging and automatic control of electric hybrid, electric aircushion and rubber tired vehicles, light rail and high speed freight on pallets similar to the Electric Conduit Slots used to power the trolley cars in service from the 1900s to the 1960s on routes over 100 miles in London, Washington D.C. and New York City. This unique Universal Electric Power Slot features the following:
1. No Overhead Wires or Exposed 3rd Rails! Uses proven technology, Conduit Electric Powered Slot Technology. Milage Extender for Hybrid and Electric Cars and Trucks!
2. Can be economically constructed on "Existing Right of Ways" such as Freeways, Interstate Highways, Major Boulevards, Streets, Exclusive Right of Ways and Special Elevated Guideways located in the Interstate Right of Ways on HOV and Truck Lanes.
3. Adaptable to Fast Charging of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles with use of standard 440 DC to 750 DC Volt Current Collection.
4. Uses Free Solar Energy and Low Emission Electrical Energy from the Utility Grid.
5. All Weather System, all components are contained beneath the surface of the Roadway.
6. Adaptable to all types of Vehicles, Conventional, Light Rail, Trucks, Hybrid and Electric Rubber Tired Vehicles Worldwide with Guidance Slot Rails located on the top of the Conduit Slot. Vehicles can easily hook on and detach from the Universal Conduit Electric Power Slot.
7. Adaptable to Conventional Vehicles Worldwide if equipped with Linear Induction Motors connected to the Aluminum Slot Rails!
8. The Vehicle, Light Rail and Freight Speed, Guidance, and Destinations will be automatically controlled by Central Control Centers.
9. Containerized Freight can be easily and quickly transported on Automated Airfilm Pallets, from Distribution Centers to Distribution Centers, Dock to Dock, etc.
10. A Low Cost Pilot Demonstration Test Track can be built within a Six Month Period due to the availability of technology and components.
THE AIRCAR MASS TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM
Registered Copyright U.S. 1978, 2000 by Harry A. Laufman, All Rights Reserved