[freebeard]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodyear_Inflatoplane


https://www.aerotoons.com/blog/goody...latoplane.html

The airplane was made of a special sandwich of rubberized materials called "airmat".

Inflatoplane folded upThe inner portion of this airmat material was composed of numerous meshes of nylon threads which, when inflated with air, would form a strong "I" beam structure.

The shape of the wings and other flight structures were maintained inflight by a steady circulation of air provided by the aircraft's engine after the initial inflation of the airplane, (which took as little as 25 psi. and 5 minutes to inflate) and was said to be quite rigid. The fuselage was made of airship fabric with high-strength, fan-shaped patches of rubberized material providing attachments for struts and metal supports that connected the landing gear and the pilot's seat to the aircraft.