1953 Fletcher Flair Jeep Prototype

Wendell Fletcher was an American inventor, industrialist, and aviation pioneer. He admired the Porsche firm for its innovation and, over the course of time, established a close relationship with Ferry Porsche.

Fletcher Aviation was founded in 1941 in Pasadena, California by the Fletcher brothers - Wendell, Frank, and Maurice. The purpose of this newly formed company was to build a basic trainer aircraft for the United States Army.

The Flair was an amphibious Jeep project that Fletcher's firm, Fletcher Aviation Company, was developing in hopes of receiving a U.S. government contract for mass production. Fletcher formed a collaboration with Porsche to develop a special engine with 'jet cooling.'