Flying RVs
In The Flying House by Ruth and Latrobe Carroll, we learn of the Bing family with their flying house:
The Bings are “people of tomorrow.” They have a “sit-still” house but they also have a helicopter home. Sally and Bill, their parents, and all their animals travel around New England in their flying home, having adventures and helping Mr. Bing sell soap.
The Flying House by Ruth and Latrobe Carroll.
That was fiction. Everything else here was real.
1950s: Glenn Odekirk’s Landseaire
The starboard observation blister, formed of a single piece of Perspex, displayed the world in panorama. Here, the Kendall family in N5593V, joined by LIFE photographer David Lees, observes the great pyramids.
Glenn Odekirk of Southern California Aircraft Corp sold the dream of flying yachts to a post-WWII America rich with victory and eager for adventure. Odekirk had some credibility due to his connections with Howard Hughes. One of those caught up in Odekirk’s dream was Thomas Kendall:
Last spring Thomas Kendall, a retired California industrialist of 44, started a leisurely trip around the world in a PBY amphibian that he had converted into a lavish flying yacht. Kendall’s party consisted of his wife Miriam, his children Bob, 24, Susan, 15, Paul, 11, Kathy, 9;his secretary, Mrs. Ramona Shearer, and her son Stephen, 11. Photographer David Lees joined the group during the trip to record part of it for LIFE. One evening a few weeks ago Kendall landed in the Gulf of Aqaba in the Middle East and the pleasure trip turned into a harrowing, almost fatal adventure, which he describes in the following article.
The adventure was recorded by LIFE photographer David Lees, but not before LIFE did a photo spread on Odekirk and his flying yachts.
LIFE photographer Loomis Dean photographs models in the starboard observation blister before taking flight.
LIFE photographer Loomis Dean took flight in one of Glenn Odekirk’s Landseaire yachts for an article published in 1953.
A model enjoys the view from the starboard observation blister while another aircraft follows closely.
Just #flyingyachtlifethings
Good stuff for $265,000 in 1953 dollars.
Glamorous as it looked, Thomas Kendall and his family were lucky to get away with their lives. While anchored near the shore on Strait of Tirana, they were attacked by Bedouin tribesmen serving in the Saudi Arabian army. The old Landseaire sits there to this day.
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1970s: the Winnebago Heli-Home
The Winnebago Heli-Home, as featured in Popular Mechanics.
- Drivetrain: 800HP piston engine, or available 1,525HP turbine
- Chassis: Siksorky S-55 (piston) or S-58 (turbine) military surplus transport helicopter
- Price: $880,000, or up to $1.4 million with options (adjusted to 2020 dollars)
- Sleeps: 6
- Amenities: Leisure cabin with couches, parquet-topped dinette tables, mini-bar, eight-track tape deck, television. Galley kitchen with electric range, sink, and refrigerator. Full bath with shower and holding tanks. 40,000 BTU heater, 6,000 BTU air conditioner, 3.5 kilowatt generator, water heater
- Livable area: 115 square feet
- Total sold: 8
The Winnebago Heli-Home, as featured in Popular Science.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-9v_8HpJus
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