Moller Skycar M400

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This article contains information about a scheduled or anticipated future aircraft. It may contain preliminary or speculative information, and may not reflect the final version of the aircraft.

Skycar M400
A poster of the skycar
Type	Flying car (aircraft)
Manufacturer	Moller International
Designed by	Paul Moller
Status	Under development

The Moller Skycar is a prototype personal VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) aircraft — a "flying car" — called a "volantor"^[1] by its inventor Paul Moller, who has been attempting to develop such vehicles for many years.

The design calls for four ducted fans - the propellors being covered which is safer and more efficient at low speeds.

[edit] Description

The craft said to be currently under development, the M400, is purported to ultimately transport four people; however, single-seat up to six-seat variations are planned.^[2] It is described as a car since it is aimed at being a popular means of transport for anyone who can drive, incorporating automated flight controls. The driver may only input direction and speed, no piloting knowledge being required. The Skycar might use a system like the Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) in 3D "crowded" airspace areas. ^[3]

Further, developers claim that by using eight inexpensive Wankel rotary engines - compared to jet engines, the vehicle's price may eventually fall close to that of a quality car ($100,000), even if at the moment the price for the first units is expected to be close to USD$1 million.

Its proposed features would include approximately 305 mph (491 km/h) cruise speed, 360 mph (579 km/h) maximum speed, max. height 10.8 km, ascend speed 1.4 km/minute, max. payload 340 kg, max. take off weight 1088 kg, more than 8.5 km/liter (20 mpg) (bio)ethanol, eight redundant, low-emission Wankel engines for safety, residential garage size, a parachute for the whole machine and road capability for short distances (to be driven to a vertiport). ^[4] The fuel mileage is claimed to be similar to that of a big car, but despite potentially shorter routes and less queuing, this is widely viewed as unrealistic. Wankel engines are inherently less efficient than reciprocating engines, and, unlike car engines, aircraft engines have to run continuously at high power. Moller has produced no detailed figures to back up this claim. ^[5] Operation of a Skycar "will only produce as much noise as traffic on a nearby freeway" when taking off, and "This will only last for a few seconds, because it climbs so quickly.".^[6]

A smaller version of the low-emissions Wankel engine from the M400 was slated for the Moller M200X, and these engines runs on a mixture of 70% (bio)ethanol and 30% water. Earlier models used gasoline. The ethanol/water fuel mixture makes the fuel almost totally non-flammable outside the engines, which dramatically lowers the fire hazard. The water cools the engines, with a higher usable compression and the result is better performing engines than with 100% ethanol. The mixture makes the engine pollution lower than the California strict SULEV standard (Super Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle). ^[7] Even with pure ethanol the engines fulfills the SULEV standard. ^[8]

The Skycar demonstrated limited tethered flight capability in 2003. Scheduled tethered flight tests, that 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".^[4] Additional flight tests were supposedly to be conducted once Moller engineers have completed the upgrades to the Skycar's nacelles with the larger engines.^{[citation needed]} Recently, the skycar has gone through several permulations after wind testing. The wind testing has allowed the engineers of Moller International to actually improve safer landings and ground stability.

Discovery Channel's MythBusters has reported that more than 200 million US dollars have gone into the development of the Skycar.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Criticism

Moller has been claiming to be attempting to build a flying car since 1974, constantly promising delivery dates that are just "around the corner". ^[9] Each time the deadline approaches, Moller has postponed it.

The only demonstrations approaching flight have been hover tests performed by a Skycar prototype that for insurance reasons was tethered to a crane.^[10]

[edit] Presales

A poster of the skycar

Moller has been taking refundable deposits on the M400 since 2003. ^[11] Refund conditions include failure to meet rated performance or failure to obtain US FAA flight certification by December 31, 2005. Since 2003, Moller has slipped the date for FAA flight certification one year each year. As of 2007, Moller's claimed date for FAA certification stands at December 31, 2008. ^[12].

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, CA that the reserve price had been $3,500,000. ^[13] A previous attempt in 2003 to sell the M400 via eBay was also unsuccessful. ^[14]

Given the machine's very protracted development and its ambitiousness, skepticism that the machine will work as claimed remains high.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[15] Depending on demand, Moller says, the M200G Volantor could cost under $100,000.^[16]

[edit] 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.^[17] In the words of the SEC complaint, "As of late 2002, MI's approximately 40 years' of development has resulted in a prototype Skycar capable of hovering about fifteen feet above the ground."^[18]

[edit] In Writing

The Moller Skycar had a brief role in the Clive Cussler novel Atlantis Found.

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• Automobile
• Flight
• Flying car
• Transport
• Bell X-22A

[edit] External links

• Moller International
• Moller International in Korea
• Skycar Africa(Pty)Ltd., the South African agent to Moller International
• A formal claim of fraud against Moller International from the SEC web site
• Moller Discojet brochure from 1974
• Overview of Skycar and transportation
• "Seven Flights of Fancy that Fizzled" - MSNBC
• Gizmag
• Davis California Wiki