Moller Skycar to fly at last (?)
(Courtesy of Aero-news.net...)
'Skycar' Manufacturer Announces Scheduled Test Flight
Moller International Hopes To Fly M400 In October
Moller International has scheduled a demonstration flight of its ethanol-fueled M400 Skycar volantor. This invitation-only media event is scheduled to take place on October 11, 2011 in Vacaville, CA. The company says over 250 members of the domestic and international press have already indicated an interest in attending.
Moller has been touting the Skycar concept for nearly 10 years now, and says the four-place M400 will be a VTOL aircraft capable of top speeds of 350 mph and a 750 mile range. It is powered by four Rotapower engines driving modified ducted fans.
The company says the M400 will offer helicopter-like takeoffs and landings, with the speed and performance of a business jet. They say there are civilian as well as military applications for the "Skycar".
Read the full article at Aero-news.net (click here)...
Will it fly? I've been waiting to see Moller back his claims for decades.
When I first read of this machine he was promising that it would be priced at the cost of a luxury automobile, about $40,000 at the time. I think that price has increased tenfold since then. It would be INCREDIBLY interesting to see this unusual contraption actual fly under full control. Somehow I get the feeling that the long-awaited first flight will get cancelled at the last minute or second for some obscure or bogus reason. Just a feeling....hope I'm wrong.
ANYWAY, here's some background on Mr. Moller, courtesy of WIKI. You decide.
Steve (AirDOGGe)
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Dr. Paul S. Moller (born 1936, Canada) is an engineer who has spent the past forty years developing the Moller Skycar personal vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) vehicle.
The engine technology developed for the Skycar has also been adapted as a UAV platform called the aerobot. The rotapower engine itself has been spun off to a separate Moller company, Freedom Motors.
In 1972, Moller founded Supertrapp Industries to market his invention of an engine silencing system. Moller sold Supertrapp in 1988 in order to fund development of his Skycar and its rotapower engine.
In 2003, the Securities and Exchange Commission sued Moller for civil fraud (Securities And Exchange Commission v. Moller International, Inc., and Paul S. Moller, Defendants) in connection with the sale of unregistered stock, and for making unsubstantiated claims about the performance of the Skycar. Moller settled this lawsuit by agreeing to a permanent injunction and paying $50,000.
Moller is a professor emeritus at the University of California, Davis and lives in Davis. He was featured in Popular Science's January 2005 issue and recently appeared on the Coast To Coast AM. He also appeared in Popular Science's September 1967 issue.
In 2007, Moller announced that the M200G Volantor, a successor to the Moller Skycar, would hopefully be on the market in the United States by early 2008. His proposed Autovolantor model includes an all-electric version powered by Altairnano batteries.
Moller's credibility has been questioned in recent years because of the vaporware nature of his creations. In April 2009, the National Post characterized the Moller M400 Skycar as a 'failure', and described the Moller company as "no longer believable enough to gain investors".
On May 18, 2009, Dr. Moller has filed for protection under the Chapter 11 reorganization provisions of the federal bankruptcy law.
LINK TO MOLLER'S WEBSITE: http://www.moller.com/
'Skycar' Manufacturer Announces Scheduled Test Flight
Moller International Hopes To Fly M400 In October
Moller International has scheduled a demonstration flight of its ethanol-fueled M400 Skycar volantor. This invitation-only media event is scheduled to take place on October 11, 2011 in Vacaville, CA. The company says over 250 members of the domestic and international press have already indicated an interest in attending.
Moller has been touting the Skycar concept for nearly 10 years now, and says the four-place M400 will be a VTOL aircraft capable of top speeds of 350 mph and a 750 mile range. It is powered by four Rotapower engines driving modified ducted fans.
The company says the M400 will offer helicopter-like takeoffs and landings, with the speed and performance of a business jet. They say there are civilian as well as military applications for the "Skycar".
Read the full article at Aero-news.net (click here)...
Will it fly? I've been waiting to see Moller back his claims for decades.
When I first read of this machine he was promising that it would be priced at the cost of a luxury automobile, about $40,000 at the time. I think that price has increased tenfold since then. It would be INCREDIBLY interesting to see this unusual contraption actual fly under full control. Somehow I get the feeling that the long-awaited first flight will get cancelled at the last minute or second for some obscure or bogus reason. Just a feeling....hope I'm wrong.
ANYWAY, here's some background on Mr. Moller, courtesy of WIKI. You decide.
Steve (AirDOGGe)
================================================== ====================
Dr. Paul S. Moller (born 1936, Canada) is an engineer who has spent the past forty years developing the Moller Skycar personal vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) vehicle.
The engine technology developed for the Skycar has also been adapted as a UAV platform called the aerobot. The rotapower engine itself has been spun off to a separate Moller company, Freedom Motors.
In 1972, Moller founded Supertrapp Industries to market his invention of an engine silencing system. Moller sold Supertrapp in 1988 in order to fund development of his Skycar and its rotapower engine.
In 2003, the Securities and Exchange Commission sued Moller for civil fraud (Securities And Exchange Commission v. Moller International, Inc., and Paul S. Moller, Defendants) in connection with the sale of unregistered stock, and for making unsubstantiated claims about the performance of the Skycar. Moller settled this lawsuit by agreeing to a permanent injunction and paying $50,000.
Moller is a professor emeritus at the University of California, Davis and lives in Davis. He was featured in Popular Science's January 2005 issue and recently appeared on the Coast To Coast AM. He also appeared in Popular Science's September 1967 issue.
In 2007, Moller announced that the M200G Volantor, a successor to the Moller Skycar, would hopefully be on the market in the United States by early 2008. His proposed Autovolantor model includes an all-electric version powered by Altairnano batteries.
Moller's credibility has been questioned in recent years because of the vaporware nature of his creations. In April 2009, the National Post characterized the Moller M400 Skycar as a 'failure', and described the Moller company as "no longer believable enough to gain investors".
On May 18, 2009, Dr. Moller has filed for protection under the Chapter 11 reorganization provisions of the federal bankruptcy law.
LINK TO MOLLER'S WEBSITE: http://www.moller.com/
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