Moller M400 Skycar

Last updated
Skycar M400
Moller Skycar M400.jpg
Moller Skycar M400
Role Flying car
Manufacturer Moller International
Designer Paul Moller
StatusExperimental
A poster advertising the Skycar Skycar poster.jpg
A poster advertising the Skycar

The Moller Skycar is a flying car with VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) capability which has been under development by Paul Moller for over fifty years. [1] [2] As of 2023, the M400 has not achieved free flight.

Contents

Due to the project's failure to deliver and associated financial issues, Moller has been accused of deliberate fraud. The parent company, Moller International, has been dormant since 2015. [3]

Description

The M400 is a four-seat flying car, a type of VTOL personal air vehicle described by Moller as a "volantor" Skycar models from single-seat up to six-seat accommodation have also been envisaged. [4] It is intended to be flyable by anyone who can drive, incorporating automated flight controls, with the driver only inputting direction and speed required.

The body of the M400 comprises a fairly conventional four-seat ground vehicle, which is expected to provide some aerodynamic lift in forward flight. Folding wings and a large, fixed horizontal stabilizer provide the main lifting surfaces, although early prototypes had no wing fitted. VTOL lift and forward thrust in the air are provided by four pivoting ducted fan pods which deflect air vertically for takeoff and horizontally for forward flight. The pods enclose the propellers and engines, which are direct-coupled, and have movable deflector vanes at the rear to provide additional thrust vectoring.

The Skycar is not intended to be piloted like a traditional fixed wing airplane, and would have limited pilot controls, which the pilot uses to inform the computer control system of the desired flight maneuvers. [5]

Rotapower engines

The Rotapower engines used in the prototypes are being developed by an affiliate Moller company called Freedom Motors. [6] Each power unit comprises a Wankel rotary engine directly driving a ducted fan. [7] [8] The housing is lined with Kevlar to contain the fan blades in the event of failure. [7] The Skycar has four such nacelles, each with two Rotapower engines mounted in tandem. All eight engines operate independently under computer control and, as demonstrated during a tethered flight, allow for a vertical controlled landing should any one engine fail. [7]

The Rotapower engine is based on a rotary engine developed by Outboard Marine Corporation (OMC) in the 1970s [9] and is claimed to be able to run on various fuels [8] including gasoline, diesel, methanol, and clean renewable ethanol. Earlier Rotapower models used gasoline. On November 1, 2013 Moller announced that the 530 cc Rotapower engine had achieved 102 horsepower (76 kW) using alcohol (ethanol) on their test stand, yielding an effective 3 horsepower per pound (5 kW/kg) of weight. [10]

Like the M400 itself, the Rotapower engine has never entered production.

History

After forty years and $100,000,000 in expenditure [11] the Skycar demonstrated tethered hovering capability in 2003. [12] It has been extensively marketed for pre-order sale since the 1990s as Moller attempted to raise more money for development.

In 2003, hover tests were performed by a Skycar prototype that for insurance reasons was tethered, but not hung, to a crane. [13]

Setbacks

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, even though Moller's statements had passed the review and received "cleared comments" from the SEC during the filing and public information phase prior to being listed as a publicly traded company. Without admitting any wrongdoing, Moller agreed to pay $50,000 to settle the matter quickly so as not to delay the initial public offering of the stock. [14] In the words of the SEC complaint, "As of late 2002, MI's approximately 40 years' [ sic ] of development has resulted in a prototype Skycar capable of hovering about fifteen feet above the ground." [14] The shareholders of Moller International banded together to form a group known as "Shareholders of Moller International ("SoMI"), [15]

In October 2006, Moller attempted to auction the only prototype of its M200X model on eBay. It failed to sell. The highest bid was $3,000,100; Moller reported at the annual meeting of stockholders on October 21, 2006 in Davis, California, that the reserve price had been $3,500,000. [16] A previous attempt in 2003 to sell the M400 via eBay was also unsuccessful, [17] as were two subsequent attempts to sell the M400 prototype on eBay in July 2017.

On May 18, 2009, Paul Moller filed for personal protection under the Chapter 11 reorganization provisions of the federal bankruptcy law [18] and it is unknown how this will affect the fate of his ideas; Moller International itself did not file for bankruptcy but reduced operations. [2]

On June 21, 2011 Moller International applied for Experimental Airworthiness Certification of the M400 Skycar with the FAA who accepted the application. Demonstration flight plans were scheduled for October 2011 and a flight test consultant was maintained by Moller International. [19] [20] However, no demonstration flight ever occurred.

Refinancing

A memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed in January 2013 between Moller International and a US-China and e-business network agreeing to the goal of developing production for Moller Skycars in the United States and the People's Republic of China. [21]

As of October 2015 nothing further has been reported on developments of this previously announced joint venture despite Moller International's January 2013 press release having stated the following: "The JV will initially invest $80 million (USD) of a planned $480 million investment with the objective of producing a variety of VTOL aircraft by 2014." [22]

On November 5, 2013 Moller kicked off a crowdfunding campaign with an official announcement on the Happening Now program on Fox News Channel in the US. He subsequently followed the broadcast announcement with a press release and a radio-broadcast announcement on the Coast to Coast AM radio program with host John B. Wells interviewing Moller for 2 hours.

The campaign was formulated to raise money to further develop the systems to fly the Skycar without a tether and with a pilot on-board - something that Moller had yet to accomplish with the flights that had been conducted to date with the M400X prototype vehicle. Moller launched a donation-only crowdfunding campaign - not subject to SEC scrutiny - and promised to provide gifts and other items to donors, included a ride in the M400X as the top gift of the campaign. The Moller crowdfunding campaign ended on January 4, 2014 and raised a total of US$29,429.00 from 188 funders, far short of its $950,000 goal. [23]

Cessation of operations

As explained in a Freedom Motors newsletter from August 2019, Moller International has been dormant since 2015. [3] Shares of Moller International were revoked by the SEC in September 2019. [24]

Criticism

The Skycar has never achieved free flight. The ongoing lack of funding for the Moller company to actually fly the M400 led the National Post to characterize the Skycar as a 'failure'. The management of the company and the inability to bring a product to market draws the most ire from commentators. [25]

Variants

Moller M150 Skycar
The initial single seat technology demonstrator, incorporating the fuselage of a Bede BD-5 with two of Moller's ducted fan units. Prototype only; no public demonstration flights.
Moller M400 Skycar
The prototype version powered by four Moller propulsors incorporating Rotapower 500 Wankel rotary engines; has flown several times without a pilot but tethered via slack safety line to an overhead crane
Moller 400 Skycar
Production version; unbuilt.
Moller 100LS and 200LS
Proposed 1-and-2 seat air vehicles, similar to the 400 Skycar

Specifications (M400 Skycar)

Data from [26] and [27]

General characteristics

Performance

The Moller M400 Skycar was featured in the 2010 telemovie The Jensen Project with LeVar Burton and Kellie Martin. [28]

It also appears in Clive Cussler's novel Atlantis Found , where it is flown by Dirk Pitt. [29]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flying car</span> Car that can be flown in much the same way as a car may be driven

A flying car or roadable aircraft is a type of vehicle which can function both as a road vehicle and as an aircraft. As used here, this includes vehicles which drive as motorcycles when on the road. The term "flying car" is also sometimes used to include hovercars and/or VTOL personal air vehicles. Many prototypes have been built since the early 20th century, using a variety of flight technologies. Most have been designed to take off and land conventionally using a runway. Although VTOL projects are increasing, none has yet been built in more than a handful of numbers.

Paul Sandner Moller is a Canadian engineer who has spent over fifty 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yakovlev Yak-141</span> Soviet VTOL fighter prototype

The Yakovlev Yak-141, also known as the Yak-41, is a Soviet supersonic vertical takeoff/landing (VTOL) fighter aircraft designed by Yakovlev. Intended as a replacement for the Yak-38, it was designed as a supersonic fleet defence fighter capable of STOVL/VTOL operating from Soviet carriers. Four prototypes were built before the project's cancellation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yakovlev Yak-36</span> Soviet experimental VSTOL aircraft

The Yakovlev Yak-36, also known as Izdeliye V, is a Soviet technology demonstrator for a VTOL combat aircraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bell X-22</span> 1960s American V/STOL aircraft

The Bell X-22 is an American V/STOL X-plane with four tilting ducted fans. Takeoff was to selectively occur either with the propellers tilted vertically upwards, or on a short runway with the nacelles tilted forward at approximately 45°. Additionally, the X-22 was to provide more insight into the tactical application of vertical takeoff troop transporters such as the preceding Hiller X-18 and the X-22's successor, the Bell XV-15. Another program requirement was a true airspeed in level flight of at least 525 km/h.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryan X-13 Vertijet</span> Experimental vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) jet aircraft

The Ryan X-13 Vertijet was an experimental tail-sitting vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) jet aircraft built by Ryan Aeronautical and flown in the United States in the 1950s. The main objective of the project was to demonstrate the ability of a pure jet to vertically takeoff, hover, transition to horizontal forward flight, and vertically land.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avro Canada VZ-9 Avrocar</span> 1959 experimental VTOL aircraft model

The Avro Canada VZ-9 Avrocar was a VTOL aircraft developed by Avro Canada as part of a secret U.S. military project carried out in the early years of the Cold War. The Avrocar intended to exploit the Coandă effect to provide lift and thrust from a single "turborotor" blowing exhaust out of the rim of the disk-shaped aircraft. In the air, it would have resembled a flying saucer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryan XV-5 Vertifan</span> American experimental VTOL aircraft

The Ryan XV-5 Vertifan was a jet-powered V/STOL experimental aircraft in the 1960s. The United States Army commissioned the Ryan VZ-11-RY in 1961, along with the Lockheed VZ-10 Hummingbird. It successfully proved the concept of ducted lift fans, but the project was cancelled after multiple fatal crashes unrelated to the lift system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lockheed XV-4 Hummingbird</span> American experimental VTOL aircraft

The Lockheed XV-4 Hummingbird was a U.S. Army project to demonstrate the feasibility of using VTOL for a surveillance aircraft carrying target-acquisition and sensory equipment. It was designed and built by the Lockheed Corporation in the 1960s, one of many attempts to produce a V/STOL vertical take off/landing jet. Both prototype aircraft were destroyed in accidents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piasecki VZ-8 Airgeep</span> VTOL aircraft prototype by Piasecki Aircraft

The Piasecki VZ-8 Airgeep was a prototype vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft developed by Piasecki Aircraft. The Airgeep was developed to fulfill a U.S. Army Transportation Research Command contract for a flying jeep in 1957. The flying jeep was envisioned to be smaller and easier to fly than a helicopter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doak VZ-4</span> Type of aircraft

The Doak VZ-4 was an American prototype Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) aircraft built in the 1950s for service in the United States Army. Only a single prototype was built, and the U.S. Army withdrew it from active trials in 1963.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moller M200G Volantor</span> Type of aircraft

The M200G Neuera is a prototype of a flying saucer-style hovercraft, designed by aeronautics engineer Paul Moller. The vehicle is envisioned as a precursor to the Moller M400 Skycar. The M200G Volantor uses a system of eight computer-controlled fans to hover up to 10 feet (3 m) above the ground. Volantor is a term coined by Moller meaning "a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dassault Balzac V</span> Type of aircraft

The Dassault Balzac V was a French vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) testbed of the early 1960s. It was built by Dassault Aviation from a prototype Mirage III aircraft to test the configuration for the Mirage IIIV. The sole example was involved in two major accidents that killed the aircraft's pilot, and was not repaired after the second crash.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aerial Reconfigurable Embedded System</span> Roadable aircraft

The Aerial Reconfigurable Embedded System (ARES) was a concept for an unmanned VTOL flight module that can transport various payloads. The concept started as the TX (Transformer) in 2009 for a terrain-independent transportation system centered on a ground vehicle that could be configured into a VTOL air vehicle and carry four troops. ARES' primary function was the same as TX, to use flight to avoid ground-based transportation threats like ambushes and IEDs for units that don't have helicopters for those missions. It was to be powered by twin tilting ducted fans and have its own power system, fuel, digital flight controls, and remote command-and-control interfaces. The flight module would have different detachable mission modules for specific purposes including cargo delivery, CASEVAC, and ISR. Up to 3,000 lb (1,400 kg) of payload would be carried by a module.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VTOL X-Plane</span> American experimental aircraft

The Vertical Take-Off and Landing Experimental Aircraft program is an American research project sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The goal of the program is to demonstrate a VTOL aircraft design that can take off vertically and efficiently hover, while flying faster than conventional rotorcraft. There have been many previous attempts, most of them unsuccessful.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tactical Robotics Cormorant</span> Type of aircraft

The Tactical Robotics Cormorant, formerly AirMule or Mule, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) codename Pereira, is a flying car unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) built by Tactical Robotics Ltd., a subsidiary of designer Rafi Yoeli's Urban Aeronautics Ltd., in Yavne, Israel. It will be used in search and rescue operations where it is too dangerous or inaccessible for a helicopter, such as evacuating people from the upper stories of burning buildings, or delivering and extracting police and soldiers while very close to structures, narrow streets, or through holes into confined spaces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lift fan</span> Aircraft propulsion configuration with fans in a fixed wing

Lift fan is an aircraft configuration in which lifting fans are located in large holes in an otherwise conventional fixed wing or fuselage. It is used for V/STOL operation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lilium Jet</span> Proposed personal air vehicle

The Lilium Jet is a prototype German electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) electrically powered airplane designed by Lilium GmbH. A seven-seat production version is planned.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tethered flight test</span>

A tethered flight test is a type of flight testing where a machine is connected by a tether to the ground. Tethered testing may be used when motion through the atmosphere is not required to sustain flight, such as for airship; vertical take-off and landing (VTOL), rotary wing or tiltwing aircraft ; or for tests of certain rockets, such as vertical takeoff, vertical landing (VTVL). Fixed wing scale models can be tested on a tether in a wind tunnel, simulating motion through the atmosphere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">XTI TriFan 600</span> US vertical takeoff and landing aircraft

The XTI TriFan 600 is a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft currently under development by XTI Aircraft Company. The TriFan 600 is referred to as a Vertical Lift Crossover Airplane (VLCA) by XTI to differentiate its range and speed from the many short-range, low-speed electric VTOL (eVTOL) aircraft under development.

References

  1. ↑ Kennedy, George (2016-04-09). "Self-driving cars are coming; can flying be next?". The Boston Globe.
  2. 1 2 Page, Lewis (2009-11-23). "Moller Skycar to finally crash and burn?". The Register.
  3. 1 2 August 2019 Newsletter -Freedom Motors Blog. Accessed on 30 September 2019.
  4. ↑ Interview with Paul Moller about future cars Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine (August 3, 2007)
  5. ↑ "Operation". Archived from the original on 2010-07-10. Retrieved 2010-03-03.
  6. ↑ Freedom Motors
  7. 1 2 3 "The Skycar Volantor" (PDF). Moller International. January 14, 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-03.[ permanent dead link ]
  8. 1 2 Rotapower Engine Technology
  9. ↑ "Freedom Motors".
  10. ↑ Moller’s Skycar® Rotary Engine Proves Ability To Produce 3 Horsepower Per Pound. 1 November 2014.
  11. ↑ option=com_content&view=article&id=78&Itemid=93#4.2 M400 Skycar FAQ - Moller International
  12. ↑ "Skycar tethered test". Archived from the original on 2010-05-05. Retrieved 2010-03-04.
  13. ↑ Test Archived 2007-10-11 at the Wayback Machine
  14. 1 2 Securities And Exchange Commission v. Moller International, Inc., and Paul S. Moller, Defendants from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission website
  15. ↑ Shareholders of Moller International website
  16. ↑ "eBay Watch: Moller M400X Skycar prototype" from MotorAuthority.com
  17. ↑ "The Skycar: Transportation of the Future" Archived 2007-02-06 at the Wayback Machine from official Moller website (PDF file)
  18. ↑ "MI Financial Statements"
  19. ↑ Janice Wood (June 23, 2011). "Moller files for experimental certification for Skycar". General Aviation News. Retrieved 2019-03-19.
  20. ↑ The Editor (June 30, 2011). "Skycar Gets FAA Experimental Airworthiness Certificate – Thunderbirds Are Go !". UAS Vision. Retrieved 2019-03-19.{{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  21. ↑ "Skycar® developer, Moller International, Signs MOU with US-based Firm". January 23, 2013. Retrieved 2013-09-17. from eAthenaTech.com
  22. ↑ "Skycar® developer, Moller International, Signs MOU with US-based Firm". Bloomberg News . January 24, 2013. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
  23. ↑ "Moller launches crowdfunding campaign for Skycar test flight". Fox News. November 5, 2013. Archived from the original on February 16, 2015.
  24. ↑ Administrative proceeding
  25. ↑ Grainger, David; "Flying cars"; National Post, April 11, 2009
  26. ↑ "M400 Skycar Specs". Moller International. 2016. Retrieved 2016-06-06.
  27. ↑ thrust, SFC
  28. ↑ "Moller International Skycar to be Featured in NBC's The Jensen Project". Moller International. 13 July 2010. Archived from the original on 6 March 2012.
  29. ↑ "Skycar for Sale". PR Newswire. 27 January 2003. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.