Paul Sandner Moller (December 11, 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.[1]
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[2] 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.[3] His proposed Autovolantor model includes an all-electric version powered by Altairnano batteries.[4]
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".[5]
On May 18, 2009, Dr. Moller has filed for protection under the Chapter 11 reorganization provisions of the federal bankruptcy law.[6]