What is the earliest instance of a motor powered flying vehicle?

Question

We've seen flying cars recently in Harry Potter (flying bikes there too), Back to the Future (and a flying train) and going back to Chitty Bang-Bang.

I'm wondering what the earliest instance of a flying car (being a motor powered vehicle, rather than a cart (or chariot) with flying horses, so Apollo and Greek mythology don't count) in either book or film.

Kind of related: http://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/73070/what-is-the-science-fiction-tradition-of-flying-cars-having-their-wheels-turned — Molag Bal, Apr 27 '16 at 09:46
@anaranjada kind of related, and very informative. Thank you. I did miss that completely when searching. Will be interesting to see if Chitty was the first flying car. Thanks — gabe3886, Apr 27 '16 at 09:54
This is what I was looking for earlier: http://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/93537/what-was-the-first-sci-fi-work-to-feature-a-spaceship Not the same question, but related. — Molag Bal, Apr 27 '16 at 09:55
Is it required to be motor-powered? If not, the ancient depictions of gods in spaceships in Palenque might be one. Or magically-powered 'cars' as described in @Joshua 's answer. — Zibbobz, Apr 27 '16 at 16:12
@Zibbobz Yes, I am looking for a motor powered example, I mention being motor powered in the question. It doesn't need to be a petroleum motor, I would accept steam powered cars if they were thought of for flying first, or electric. Just something which is car-like as we would envisage today, but with the ability to fly — gabe3886, Apr 27 '16 at 16:19
Does the vehicle have to be capable of transporting humans? There are actual toys capable of limited flight going pretty far back. DaVinci also designed a number of flying machines, which he doubtless intended to be built in reality, not just fiction. — Darrel Hoffman, Apr 27 '16 at 20:07
@DarrelHoffman Transportation would be required. Whilst a toy which looks like a car might be classified as a car, it would need to be something which is used for transport by one or more persons — gabe3886, Apr 27 '16 at 20:09
This Aerial steam carriage was patented in 1842, but never flew. Not sure if that counts as science fiction or not? More steam aircraft. — Digital Trauma, Apr 27 '16 at 22:48
@DigitalTrauma I think those items count more as aircraft, and weren't designed as cars. Good resource though. — gabe3886, Apr 28 '16 at 08:12

score 11 · Accepted Answer · answered Apr 27 '16 at 10:52

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The french painter Albert Robida drew many pictures of the future (from the perspective of about 1900). Some of them had mechanical flying cars.

There is a good article about him on mashable

However these seem to be flying machines that are used in similar ways to cars are now, rather than a normal car that flies. I am not quite sure which your question is asking about.

answered Apr 27 '16 at 10:52

Jeremy French

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Good answer and actually makes me wonder about the question itself. Is a world where flying transport used in the way we think about and use cars the same as being flying cars. I'll ponder that and see if I can refine the scope of the question if needed. – gabe3886 Apr 27 '16 at 11:03
Obviously if you are thinking of normal cars that fly, you are going to have to have something that was conceived after the advent (and popularization of motor cars) – Jeremy French Apr 27 '16 at 11:25
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Odd that these designs all seem to be made to look like fish, rather than the far more obvious choice of making them look like birds... – Darrel Hoffman Apr 27 '16 at 20:02
In 1900, airfoils were a relatively new invention. These vessels strike me as dirigible's cabins, without the need for the dirigible. If you have a magically lifting handwave, you don't need wings; just propulsion. I don't think these are cars; they just float. But is it a self-propelled flying vessel? Sure. – Mazura Apr 28 '16 at 02:16

score 10 · Answer 2 · answered Apr 27 '16 at 10:26

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The Vimanas of the ancient Sanskrit epics and Hindu texts are flying cars.

They are distinct from the horse drawn Vedas

They are described in the Ramayana which the earliest complete version can be dated to the 11th century CE (though fragments are dated as early as 6th century CE).

From the Ramayana:

"The Pushpaka Vimana that resembles the Sun and belongs to my brother was brought by the powerful Ravana; that aerial and excellent Vimana going everywhere at will ... that chariot resembling a bright cloud in the sky ... and the King [Rama] got in, and the excellent chariot at the command of the Raghira, rose up into the higher atmosphere.'"

From Wikipedia:

It is the first flying vimana mentioned in existing Hindu mythology texts (as distinct from the gods' flying horse-drawn chariots).

There has, of course, been much speculation about their meaning. I admit this answer is a bit out of the box and doesn't demand a mechanically motorized car. But it certainly is the oldest possible description I know of.

answered Apr 27 '16 at 10:26

Joshua

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'Vimāna is a mythological flying palace or chariot', doesn't meet the requirement of being a 'motor powered vehicle rather than a cart (or chariot)'. Whilst they aren't drawn by horse, I'm not sure they qualify as motor powered. Interesting answer though – gabe3886 Apr 27 '16 at 10:29
@gabe3886 Problem is, asking a "earliest instance" question means that eventually time works against you, making things more unclear through age (what else would they call it but a chariot?) and through translation issues (whether it was a palace or chariot). I quoted the earliest instance but it's probably not the best example of the Vimanas. You will probably have to limit your answers to since the advent of what you are envisioning as a "car" in order to be sure any quote is referring to the same thing. – Joshua Apr 27 '16 at 10:44
The question does describe a "car" as needing to be "motor powered". I agree that language and translations through time can make it a bit unclear, but as the Vimana don't appear to have a power source, are they motor powered or semi-sentient and a kind of living entity? (I'd need to read further into it) – gabe3886 Apr 27 '16 at 10:48
@gabe3886 well some people think they are powered. It's just a matter of interpretation. Like I said, I'm used to it this was just the earliest possible solution. :) – Joshua Apr 27 '16 at 11:26
The Vimanas are magical and not mechanically or chemically powered so this doesn't really answer the question. If we're opening this up, magic carpets may be considerably older. Perhaps a new question should be created for magical flight? – Apr 27 '16 at 15:21
I'm sorry, I thought this was the science fiction and fantasy SE. Does the OP need to specify the fuel type? Number of pistons? – Joshua Apr 27 '16 at 15:52
I was going to vote this down because it seemed to me that Vimanas are more like magic carpets than flying cars. However, Chitty is basically magic, too. – AshleyZ Apr 27 '16 at 17:01
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@Lilienthal That feels like it is veering towards Clarke's Third Law. There are plenty of examples of soft sci-fi where the "how" of some technology is handwaved away. It just happens to be that for the time period in which this was written, they used divine powers and magic instead of unobtainium. If the Vimanas really were chariots, then you would have the period-equivalent of a powered vehicle which is able to fly and appears to be unpowered – D.Spetz Apr 27 '16 at 17:09
between a powered vehicle and a magic vehicle, even if the process that generates the power is magical in origin. I believe the spirit of the question is asking about the first story describing a flying machine, not just any flying object capable of carrying passengers. @ Joshua: don't shoot the messenger. The question clearly specified the parameters the OP was looking for, I just repeated them. – Apr 28 '16 at 09:16
@Lilienthal I believe there is a disconnect between the OPs definition and the picture he has in his mind. A couple of us have pointed this out. The question defines a mechanized, self-propelled vehicle. Further definition on appearance, or method of propulsion comma are not included. Vimanas can be understood as metallic, mechanized , self-propelled vehicles. My last paragraph makes it clear that I understand if you do not wish to interpret them this way. I think the OP understood this between my final paragraph and our friendly interaction. – Joshua Apr 28 '16 at 10:04

What is the earliest instance of a motor powered flying vehicle?

2 Answers2