Folks of a certain age will recognize this bizarre little ad. Here’s some excerpts from the instruction manual you’d apparently receive if you actually ordered it.
Supposedly this was printed in Amazing Spider-Man #145 (1975), but the only copies I can find have all the original ads stripped out, so I can’t confirm that. (What a crime.)
Some other discussion:
- Brief Reddit discussion: https://www.reddit.com/r/nostalgia/comments/hyj11y/the_hover_craft_plans_you_could_order_from_old/
- A similar concept in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tf8VBggVEtc
- A 3D model recreation: https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model/dc46f710-32b6-468f-9a3a-cde9121ad80b/Air-Car-Hovercraft
I did not scan these, myself. They were provided as image samples along side an auction of the full document. I did not find a full scan of the document in PDF format, or otherwise, so this may be all we have at the moment. Figured I’d host these somewhere for posterity.
Space Age Fun
Here are your plans for building an exciting, new scientific wonder that duplicates in miniature the same principle of “Air Cushion” used to float the “Transportation Vehicles of the Future” – Air Cushion Vehicles.
The enclosed three-pod Space Craft plans are patterned after a device used by NASA to help train astronauts for movement in frictionless space.
Space Craft #3 powered by an ordinary tank-type vacuum cleaner, is capable of floating up to 200 pounds of weight. With a gentle push this vehicle will travel up to 50 ft. over any hard, flat surface. This flat surface can be a tile floor in your house or school, your patio or smooth side walk. The gym at school, or YMCA or Boys Club is ideal.
Note: Space Craft #3 is the easiest to build, carries the heaviest payload and has consistently proven to be the best performing Space Craft.
The first “Space Craft” built was used in a live television demonstration over KNBC-TV in Los Angeles, California. The “Space Craft’ was propelled 100 feet through the television studio using the thrust of a CO2, fire extinguisher. The same “Space Craft” was also used at a national convention of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics to demonstrate the use of low cost scientific training aids in education. See Space Craft #4 for details of this vehicle.
