Henry Smolinski

Lore & Background

Henry Smolinski, a graduate of Northrop Institute of Technology's aeronautical engineering school, co-founded Advanced Vehicle Engineers (AVE) with Harold Blake. The company aimed to produce a practical flying car, the AVE Mizar, by mating the rear portion of a Cessna Skymaster to a Ford Pinto. Two prototypes were built by mid-1973, with production scheduled for 1974 at prices ranging from US$18,300 to $29,000.

On August 26, 1973, a test flight ended in an emergency landing after the right wing strut base mounting attachment failed. On September 11, 1973, during another test flight at Camarillo Airport, the right wing strut again detached from the Pinto. Smolinski was at the controls; the aircraft disintegrated after takeoff, killing Smolinski and AVE Vice President Harold Blake.

The National Transportation Safety Board reported that bad welds were partly responsible for the crash, with the right wing strut attachment failing at a body panel of the Pinto. The total aircraft without passengers or fuel was already slightly over the certified gross weight of a Skymaster.

Reader's Guide

Henry Smolinski's significance lies in his attempt to create a practical roadable aircraft, a long-sought goal in aviation history. The AVE Mizar, though innovative in concept, suffered from fundamental design flaws, including exceeding the certified gross weight of its donor airframe and poor structural integration. The crash that killed Smolinski and Blake highlighted the dangers of combining automotive and aircraft structures without rigorous engineering validation. The Mizar project remains a cautionary tale in the history of flying cars, illustrating the technical and safety challenges that have prevented such vehicles from becoming mainstream. Smolinski is also remembered as one of several inventors killed by their own creations, a grim footnote in the pursuit of personal air transportation.

Did You Know?

• He co-founded Advanced Vehicle Engineers (AVE) with Harold Blake in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California.
• Smolinski was killed on September 11, 1973, during a test flight of the AVE Mizar when the right wing strut detached from the Pinto.