by JOSEPH TREVITHICK

Military fliers generally don’t have many options—and even fewer good ones—when they get shot down. In the late 1950s, the Goodyear Aircraft Corporation thought up an idea that would let stranded pilots do more than just hide and wait for a rescue party.

In 1952, Goodyear designed a small escape plane. To keep the overall size and weight down, the company built the simple aircraft out of large inflatable parts—like an air mattress.

“The need exists for a better means of escape for fliers down in enemy territory,” the company explained in a report sent to the U.S. Navy five years later. “Present methods are generally limited in range, involve considerable risk to a number of persons other than the downed flier and require perfect coordination between the rescuer and the rescued.”

At the time, helicopters were still a relatively new technology and could only travel short distances. Existing seaplanes — and other rescue aircraft — wouldn’t necessarily be able to reach crews in danger.

Goodyear’s plan was for a larger aircraft to drop an unassembled inflatable plane—not-too-creatively named the Inflatoplane—near a crash site. On the ground, the friendly fliers could pump up their ride and fly to safety.

The Pentagon was reticent about the concept … and it’s easy to see why. The concept amounted to a motor strapped onto a tiny glider that a person would blow up like a beach ball.

“Considerable skepticism was expressed as to the possibility of successfully making such an aircraft,” Goodyear admitted in its design review.

So the company’s engineers went ahead and built their first prototype, the GA-33. This rubber-skinned plane had a fully inflatable fuselage and top-mounted wing. A non-inflatable engine, struts, landing gear and controls completed the design.

The pilot sat all the way at the front and was completely exposed to the elements. But that was OK, as the plane could only fly at low altitudes.