Robert Edison Fulton, Jr. (April 15, 1909 – May 7, 2004) was an American inventor and adventurer. He is known for having traveled around the world on a motorcycle and for several aviation-related inventions, among his 70 patents. Fulton was also a professional photographer.

During World War II, Fulton invented the first ground-based aerial flight trainer, but when the military wasn't interested, he modified it into a training aid for aerial gunners, the first fixed aerial gunnery trainer, called the "gunairstructor".

After the war, he designed and built an airplane that could be converted into an automobile, called the "Airphibian."  Charles Lindbergh flew it 1950.  However, it was not a commercial success as financial costs of air worthiness certification forced him to relinquish control of the company, and it was never developed any further.  It is now in the Smithsonian.

Source: Wikipedia