Helicopter busesIn 1943, helicopter buses were proposed by Greyhound for large-scale public travel in an application filed with the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB). Industrial designer Raymond Loewy and inventor Igor Sikorsky created the concept for a streamlined 14-seat air bus. A scale model was shown at hearings before the CAB, but none were built. Overly-optimistic plans were to provide landing ports by adapting Greyhound bus terminals. The proposed venture was publicized in a New York Times article on 9 Sep 1945. However, Greyhound Skyways began with a pair of four-place S-51 Sikorsky Helicopters, painted in blue-and-white with a greyhound logo. Within just a few years, it closed after facing the reality of being non-economic.«[Image: Artist's conception of a Greyhound Heliport from Standard Oil's quarterly Bulletin in late 1943, showing Loewy's helicopter design.] |
