Moller Skycar to fly at last (?)

[AirDOGGe]

Re: Moller Skycar to fly at last (?)

So did this ever happen??

I have yet to see it do anything but a low hover, untethered though it would appear (it's a noisy SOB):

(video link) http://www.moller.com/index.php?view...tube&Itemid=79

There's a rumor of a new class at NCAR 2013...

Wouldn't that be a sight...




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Maybe there's hope for pylon racing in the distant future (those are some fancy-looking pylons!)...

[wyhdah]

Re: Moller Skycar to fly at last (?)

Ha I laughed out loud at that picture! That thing is tethered from the top in that video. Waa Waa

[AirDOGGe]

Re: Moller Skycar to fly at last (?)

You're right. I did not see the tether during the first viewing. I stand corrected.



Here's the hoo-haw according to Wiki, including an answer to the "Has it flown?" question:

The Skycar demonstrated limited tethered flight capability in 2003 by hovering only. Scheduled tethered flight tests, which were to occur in mid-2006, were apparently canceled.

Moller upgraded the Skycar's engines in 2007, and the improved prototype is now called the "M400X".

According to a 2008 article in the media, a prototype is supposed to be flying in 2012, with certified versions "a few years later".
Moller announced that a public test flight was scheduled for October 11, 2011 in Vacaville, CA. However, this flight was postponed in an announcement on September 27, 2011, with no further announcement of a date.

So, the answer is still a big NO. So much for the flying car.



There's more info at Wiki that I think members would find of interest:

Criticism

The only flight demonstrations have been hover tests performed in 2003 by a Skycar prototype that "for insurance reasons" (quotes are mine ) was tethered to a crane. The ongoing failure of the Moller company to actually fly an M400 led the National Post to characterize the Skycar as a 'failure', and to describe the Moller company as "no longer believable enough to gain investors".



Pre-sales

Moller International had been taking refundable deposits on the M400 since 2003.

Refund conditions included failure to meet rated performance or failure to obtain U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) flight certification by December 31, 2005.

Since 2003, Moller has slipped the date for FAA flight certification one year each year. As of 2009, Moller's claimed date for FAA certification stood at "a few years after 2012."

In August 2008 the Moller website indicated that they were "currently not taking deposits on aircraft", and there are indications that Moller International is unable to refund deposits put down on M400s.

In October 2006, Moller attempted to auction the only prototype of its M400 model on eBay. It failed to sell.

The highest bid was $3,000,100; Dr. Moller reported at the annual meeting of stockholders on October 21, 2006 in Davis, California that the reserve price had been $3,500,000. A previous attempt in 2003 to sell the M400 via eBay was also unsuccessful.

In 2007, Moller announced that the M200G Volantor, a precursor to the Moller Skycar capable of hovering 10 feet above the ground and traveling up to 50 MPH, would hopefully be on the market in the United States by early 2008. Depending on demand, Moller says, the M200G Volantor could cost under $100,000.



SEC complaint

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. In the words of the SEC complaint, "As of late 2002, Moller International's approximately 40 years' [sic] of development has resulted in a prototype Skycar capable of hovering about fifteen feet above the ground.

The saddest thing about it all is, they are still promoting that "dog on a leash" as if it worked (good name in more ways than one, 'cause that dog can't hunt!).


And the spin They put on it's promotion would make a tornado dizzy...

Visit the Moller site, and text on the front page claims "Moller International has developed the first and only feasible, personally affordable, personal vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) vehicle the world has ever seen. "


Seems to me that you would actually have to FLY the sucka successfully at least ONCE to make a boast like that and be honest about it... So sad...


And to top it all off, even though the M400 hasn't proven anything except how to burn money quickly, their site says they are now working on a SIX-SEAT VERSION CALLED THE M600! Oh my...


'Nuff sed?

[Lowell]

Re: Moller Skycar to fly at last (?)

I'm pretty sure Wildfire will have turned laps at Reno, before any Moller creation flies once around the strip. The wait for both is getting a little tiring although. Maybe my grandsons ( 1 & 2-1/2) will have something to look forward to.

[johnnyrace]

Re: Moller Skycar to fly at last (?)

I'm pretty sure Wildfire will have turned laps at Reno, before any Moller creation flies once around the strip. The wait for both is getting a little tiring although. Maybe my grandsons ( 1 & 2-1/2) will have something to look forward to.

FUNNY!!!...That Foggy Day Test Flight video reminds me of the Neil Armstrong "Flying Bedstead"

[SkyvanDelta]

Re: Moller Skycar to fly at last (?)

I don't think this video is the Moller, but it is a flying car that does fly.

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=cad_1322822486

[AirDOGGe]

Re: Moller Skycar to fly at last (?)

No, it's not a Moller (Mollers are intended to rise vertically and hover as well as fly), but that one DOES FLY HORIZONTALLY, unlike any Moller creation as of yet...


The Terrafugia has been in the news for some time now. Here's a link to their website:

http://www.terrafugia.com/

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[First time Juke]

Re: Moller Skycar to fly at last (?)

Moller may have faced these difficulties; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87Vc5...ture=endscreen