Moller M400 Volantor

The Moller M400 Volantor Skycar is a prototype personal VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) aircraft &mdash; a "flying car" &mdash; called a "volantor" by its inventor Paul Moller, who has been attempting to develop such vehicles for many years.

See Wikicars' comprehensive  Review.

Recent Changes
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Styles and Major Options
The craft currently under development, the M400, is intended to ultimately transport four people, however single seat up to six seat variations are planned to be engineered.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 should only input direction and speed, no pilot knowledge being required. The Skycar might use a system like the Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) in 3D "crowded" airspace areas. Further, developers claim that by using eight inexpensive Wankel rotary engines - compared to jet engines, its price will eventually fall close to that of a quality car, even if at the moment the price for the first units is expected to be close to USD$1 million, however prices are expected to drop when the vehicle is put into greater production.

Its proposed features would include ca. 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 (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). 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 aircraft engines have to run continuously at high power unlike car engines. Moller has produced no detailed or convincing figures to back up this claim.

A smaller version of the 8 low-emissions Wankel engines as in M400, is in 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 nearly unflammable outside the engines, which dramatically lower the fire hazard. The water cools the engines, with a higher useable compression and the result are 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). Even with pure ethanol the engines fulfills the SULEV standard.

The Skycar demonstrated limited tethered flight capability in 2003. More tethered flight tests are now scheduled for an undisclosed date sometime after mid 2006. Moller has upgraded the Skycar's engines in 2007, and the improved prototype is now called the "M400X". Additional flight tests will supposedly be conducted once Moller engineers have completed the upgrades to the Skycar's nacelles with the larger engines (projected for 2007).

Pricing
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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. 
 * Moller has been taking refundable deposits on the M400 since 2003.


 * 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. A previous attempt in 2003 to sell the M400 via eBay was also unsuccessful.


 * Given the machine's very protracted development and its ambitiousness, skepticism that the machine will work as claimed remains high.

Gas Mileage
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As seen on the FuelEconomy.gov website, the City/Highway MPG averages are as follows:

Engine and Transmission
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Performance
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Reliability
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Safety
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Photos
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Colors
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Main Competitors
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Hybrid Models
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Unique Attributes
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Interior
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Resale Values
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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. from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission 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."

Generations
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Worldwide
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Design quirks and oddities

 * The Moller Skycar had a brief role in the Clive Cussler novel Atlantis Found.
 * Discovery Channel's MythBusters has reported that more than 200 million US dollars have gone into the development of the Skycar.

Awards
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