Editing Snowmobile (section)

=== Early designs ===
[[file:Harold J Kalenze.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Harry Kalenze, inventor of the Vehicle Propeller]]
[[file:Kegresse tsar17.jpg|thumb|Nicholas II Packard Twin-6 with Kégresse track]]

A patent (554.482) for the Sled-Propeller design, without a model, was submitted on Sept. 5, 1895 by inventors William J. Culman and William B. Follis of [[Brule, Wisconsin]].<ref>Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office United States. Page 778. January 1, 1896; U.S. Patent Office.</ref>

The [[American Motor Sleigh]] was a short-lived novelty vehicle produced in [[Boston]] in 1905. Designed for travel on snow, it consisted of a sleigh body mounted on a framework that held an engine, a drive-shaft system, and runners.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/scientific-american-1905-01-28/scientific-american-v92-n04-1905-01-28#page/n31/mode/2up/search/sleigh|title=Scientific American Volume 92 Number 04 (January 1905)|website=archive.org|date=28 January 1905|access-date=2017-03-10}}</ref> Although considered an interesting novelty, sales were low and production ceased in 1906.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.american-automobiles.com/American-Motor-Sleigh.html|title=The American Motor Sleigh & The American Motor Sleigh Co.|website=www.american-automobiles.com|access-date=2017-03-10|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312044335/http://www.american-automobiles.com/American-Motor-Sleigh.html|archive-date=2017-03-12}}</ref>

An Aerosledge, a propeller-driven and running on skis, was built in 1909–1910 by Russian inventor [[Igor Sikorsky]] of helicopter fame.<ref>{{Cite web| url=http://www.aqpl43.dsl.pipex.com/MUSEUM/TRANSPORT/propsleigh/propsleigh.htm| title=The Propeller-Driven Sleigh| publisher=SelfSite| date=26 July 2005| access-date=2008-09-10| url-status=live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110710222219/http://www.aqpl43.dsl.pipex.com/MUSEUM/TRANSPORT/propsleigh/propsleigh.htm| archive-date=10 July 2011}}</ref> Aerosanis were used by the Soviet [[Red Army]] during the [[Winter War]] and [[World War II]].<ref>{{Cite web| url=http://www.battlefield.ru/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=216&Itemid=123&lang=en| title=Soviet Combat Snowmobiles| publisher=The Russian Battlefield| author=Valeri Potapov Translated by: James F. Gebhardt| work=BATTLEFIELD.RU - всё о Великой Отечественной войне| year=1998| access-date=2008-09-10| url-status=live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090126023643/http://www.battlefield.ru/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=216&Itemid=123&lang=en| archive-date=2009-01-26}}</ref> There is some dispute over whether Aerosanis count as snowmobiles because they were not propelled by tracks.<ref>{{Cite web| url=http://www.journal-a-day.com/Automotive/359658-enjoying-a-snowmobile-at-full.html| title=Enjoying A Snowmobile At Full| date=December 18, 2006| quote=Not only are snowmobiles popular in the United States and Canada, USSR has their very own version of the snowmobile, which can be seen in the Aerosani. Aerosani, when interpreted, intends "aero sleigh." The Russians usage this propeller-powered snowmobile for delivering the mail, patrolling the metes, as well as for recreational intents.| publisher=Journal-a-day| access-date=2008-03-01| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090107134525/http://www.journal-a-day.com/Automotive/359658-enjoying-a-snowmobile-at-full.html| archive-date=January 7, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web| url=http://www.vanishingpoint.biz/productdetail.asp?productID=790| title=Soviet Aerosani RF 8 (for 3D Studio Max)| quote=An aerosani (Russian: aerosani, literally 'aerosled') is a type of propeller-powered snowmobile, running on skis, used for communications, mail deliveries, medical aid, emergency recovery and border patrolling in northern Russia, as well as for recreation. Aerosanis were used by the Soviet Red Army during the Winter War and the Second World War.| publisher=Vanishing Point| access-date=2008-03-01| url-status=live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090107135340/http://www.vanishingpoint.biz/productdetail.asp?productID=790| archive-date=2009-01-07}}</ref><ref>{{ webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090518143304/http://www.experiencefestival.com/aerosan/articleindex |date=2009-05-18 }}</ref>

[[Adolphe Kégresse]] designed an original [[caterpillar track]]s system, called the [[Kégresse track]], while working for Tsar [[Nicholas II of Russia]] between 1906 and 1916. These used a flexible belt rather than interlocking metal segments and could be fitted to a conventional car or truck to turn it into a [[half-track]], suitable for use over soft ground, including snow. Conventional front wheels and steering were used but the wheel could be fitted with skis as seen in the upper right image. He applied it to several cars in the Royal garage including [[Rolls-Royce Limited|Rolls-Royce]] cars and [[Packard]] trucks. Although this was not a snowmobile, it is an ancestor of the modern concept.

In 1911 a 24-year-old, Harold J. Kalenze (pronounced Collins), patented the Vehicle Propeller in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ic.gc.ca/opic-cipo/cpd/eng/patent/150493/summary.html?type=number_search&tabs1Index=tabs1_1|title=Canadian Patent Database / Base de données sur les brevets canadiens|first=Government of Canada, Industry Canada, Office of the Deputy Minister, Canadian Intellectual Property|last=Office|website=www.ic.gc.ca|access-date=3 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171110224905/http://www.ic.gc.ca/opic-cipo/cpd/eng/patent/150493/summary.html?type=number_search&tabs1Index=tabs1_1|archive-date=10 November 2017}}</ref>

In 1914, O. M. Erickson and Art Olsen of the P.N. Bushnell company in [[Aberdeen, South Dakota|Aberdeen]], South Dakota, built an open two-seater "motor-bob" out of an [[Indian (motorcycle)|Indian motorcycle]] modified with a cowl-cover, side-by-side seating, and a set of sled-runners fore and aft. While it did not have the tracks of a true snowmobile, its appearance was otherwise similar to the modern version and is one of the earliest examples of a personal motorized snow-vehicle.<ref>Aberdeen American News 1914-02-04</ref>

In 1915 Ray H. Muscott of [[Waters, Michigan|Waters]], Michigan, received the Canadian patent for his motor sleigh, or "traineau automobile", and on June 27, 1916, he received the first United States [[patent]] for a snow-vehicle using the now recognized format of rear track(s) and front skis.<ref>{{US patent|1188981}}</ref> Many individuals later modified [[Ford Model T]]s with the undercarriage replaced by tracks and skis following this design. They were popular for rural mail delivery for a time. The common name for these conversion of cars and small trucks was ''Snowflyers''.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=yt8DAAAAMBAJ&dq=Popular+Science+1935+plane+%22Popular+Mechanics%22&pg=PA878 "Snowflyers Replace Dogs in Frozen North" ''Popular Mechanics'', December 1934]</ref>