The Moller Skycar is a
flying car
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 u ...
with
VTOL
A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft is one that can take off and land vertically without relying on a runway. This classification can include a variety of types of aircraft including helicopters as well as thrust-vectoring fixed-win ...
(vertical take-off and landing) capability which has been under development by
Paul Moller for over forty years.
As of 2022, the M400 has not achieved free flight.
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.
Description
The M400 is a four-seat
flying car
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 u ...
, 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. 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
A tailplane, also known as a horizontal stabiliser, is a small lifting surface located on the tail (empennage) behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed-wing aircraft such as helicopters and gyroplan ...
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
In aeronautics, a ducted fan is a thrust-generating mechanical fan or propeller mounted within a cylindrical duct or shroud. Other terms include ducted propeller or shrouded propeller. When used in vertical takeoff and landing
(VTOL) applicatio ...
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.
Rotapower engines
The Rotapower engines used in the prototypes are being developed by an affiliate Moller company called Freedom Motors. Each power unit comprises a
Wankel rotary engine directly driving a ducted fan.
[Rotapower Engine Technology]
/ref> The housing is line with Kevlar
Kevlar (para-aramid) is a strong, heat-resistant synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora. Developed by Stephanie Kwolek at DuPont in 1965, the high-strength material was first used commercially in the early 1970s a ...
to contain the fan blades in the event of failure. The Skycar has four such nacelle
A nacelle ( ) is a "streamlined body, sized according to what it contains", such as an engine, fuel, or equipment on an aircraft. When attached by a pylon entirely outside the airframe, it is sometimes called a pod, in which case it is attached ...
s, 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.
The Rotapower engine is based on a rotary engine developed by Outboard Marine Corporation
Outboard Marine Corporation (OMC) was a maker of Evinrude, Johnson and Gale Outboard Motors, and many different brands of boats. It was a multibillion-dollar Fortune 500 corporation. Evinrude began in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1907. OMC was based ...
(OMC) in the 1970s and is claimed to be able to run on various fuels[ including gasoline, diesel, methanol, and clean renewable ]ethanol
Ethanol (abbr. EtOH; also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound. It is an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol with the chemical formula . Its formula can be also written as or (an ethyl ...
. Earlier Rotapower models used gasoline
Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic co ...
. On November 1, 2013 Moller announced that the 530 cc Rotapower engine had achieved using alcohol (ethanol) on their test stand, yielding an effective 3 horsepower per pound (5 kW/kg) of weight.
Like the M400 itself, the Rotapower engine has never entered production.
History
After forty years and $100,000,000 in expenditure the Skycar demonstrated tethered hovering capability in 2003. 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.
Setbacks
In 2003, the Securities and Exchange Commission
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...
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.[Securities And Exchange Commission v. Moller International, Inc., and Paul S. Moller, Defendants](_blank)
from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...
website 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."[ The shareholders of Moller International banded together to form a group known as "Shareholders of Moller International ("SoMI"),
In October 2006, Moller attempted to auction the only prototype of its M200X model on ]eBay
eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became a ...
. 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. A previous attempt in 2003 to sell the M400 via eBay was also unsuccessful, 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 and it is unknown how this will affect the fate of his ideas; Moller International itself did not file for bankruptcy but reduced operations.[
On June 21, 2011 Moller International applied for Experimental Airworthiness Certification of the M400 Skycar with the ]FAA
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...
who accepted the application. Demonstration flight plans were scheduled for October 2011 and a flight test consultant was maintained by Moller International. 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
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
.[ from eAthenaTech.com]
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."
On November 5, 2013 Moller kicked off a crowdfunding campaign with an official announcement on the ''Happening Now
''Happening Now'' was an American news-talk television program that aired on Fox News Channel from November 5, 2007 to June 8, 2018. It was hosted by Fox News anchor Jon Scott for its entire run, with the co-anchors being Jane Skinner and Jenna Le ...
'' program on Fox News Channel
The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...
in the US. He subsequently followed the broadcast announcement with a press release and a radio-broadcast announcement on the ''Coast to Coast AM
''Coast to Coast AM'' is an American late-night radio talk show that deals with a variety of topics. Most frequently the topics relate to either the paranormal or conspiracy theories. It was hosted by creator Art Bell from its inception in 19 ...
'' radio program with host John B. Wells
John B. Wells is an American talk radio host, voice actor, and former weekend host of ''Coast to Coast AM''. In addition to his film and television work, Wells has worked at television stations and radio stations across Texas and around the worl ...
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.
Cessation of operations
As explained in a Freedom Motors newsletter from August 2019, Moller International has been dormant since 2015.[National Post
The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...]
'' 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.
;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
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
.