An Aircar in Every Garage? The fantasy of a personal flying machine is lurching toward reality -

Technology Review ^ | May 23, 2003 | David Louis Dreier

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Need Transportation?

[Loyalist]

Folks will never go for them newfangled horseless carriages either. How are they ever going to control one going down the road at 20 miles an hour?

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Moller International

Letter from the President: April, 2003

Dear Skycar Fans:

We are proceeding with the fabrication and construction of the new larger ducts with more powerful Rotapower 650cc engines in place of the 530cc engines in the M400 Skycar prototype. One of the great things about this effort is that except for using two-rotor Rotapower engines, the basic design of the duct, internal support structure and deflection vane system for this duct is common to our larger capacity M600 Skycar design that has now completed all wind-tunnel testing.

The M600, as you probably recall, is about 20% bigger than the M400 and can carry up to six people or a crew of two and cargo. The vehicle has a side door opening large enough for a standard military 4’ x 4’ x 5’ sized payload container. It has a maximum VTOL net payload weight of 1,500 pounds and our preliminary studies show that for instances where short takeoff and landing is possible, the design can accommodate a net payload weight of 2,500 pounds.

With a nacelle design that is fundamentally the same for both vehicles we hope to reduce the time required to bring the M600 into production, although it remains a lower priority than the M400 at this time. We anticipate conducting flight tests of the “re-nacelled” M400 this summer.

For those of you that like to keep up with news about Moller International and the Skycar check out this web site:

http://www.techtv.com/news/scitech/story/0,24195,3422073,00.html

TechTV produced a short video during a visit to our facility in the week that we put the M400 Skycar prototype up on eBay. We are also mentioned in the concluding chapter in their book, “Consumer Gadgets – 50 Ways to Have Fun & Simplify Your Life with Today’s Technology…and Tomorrow’s”, by Nicholas D. Evans, Prentice Hall, 2003.

Rotapower Engine News

Freedom Motors has announced the release for sale of beta models of the Rotapower 650 Series engines. These engine models are entering limited production and Freedom Motors now is taking orders. The Rotapower 650 delivers 75 HP at 7,500 RPM and weighs 80 lbs while the Rotapower 1300 delivers 150 HP at 7,500 RPM and weighs 125 lbs. For more information, visit the Freedom Motors web site (www.freedom-motors.com) and select “News”. Initial price for beta models of these engines is $5,000 for the 650 and $7,000 for the 1300. Volume pricing discounts will be announced later in the year as production levels ramp up to meet the anticipated high demand. This is good news for the Skycar because key components in these engines are identical to those used in the Skycar engines. We see potential high volume sales of Freedom engines greatly reducing our engine cost and thereby helping to reduce the overall cost of the Skycar.

I want to thank you all for your continuing support and best wishes.

Sincerely,

Paul S. Moller

[Dog Gone]

Beam me up!

[Centurion2000]

As soon as they do hit the market in that 40-60K dollar range I'd be glad to pick one up. My personal rules for using it would be to stay away from airports like the plague and keep it under 5000 feet.

They should require at least 100+ hours of driving this thing on a simulator (like a PC based flight sim) before taking to the air in one though.

[buffyt]

Like on The JETSON'S????

We watched THE METROPOLIS, old black & white, silent movie. It was about the future, made LONG time ago. They had biplanes flying around the city, really slow. It was funny. The movie is VERY strange.

[William Terrell]

So long as it flys by pushing air around, it'll never get off the ground.

[Iowa Granny]

I've been hearing about this for almost 50 years. When I was in the 2ed Grade, My Weekly Reader assure my classmates and me that by the time we were high school students we would be asked Pop to borrow the helicopter on weekends. It still hasn't happened.

[buffyt]

I want a jet pack to wear on my back so I can fly around. IF it can be made safe....

[Centurion2000]

I want a jet pack to wear on my back so I can fly around. IF it can be made safe....

If it only kills 50,000 people per year like a car it will be safe enough.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

These are powered by a Wankel Rotary Engine, I thought that was a dead technology!

The Power of Freedom

Freedom's Rotapower engine has all the inherent advantages of existing Wankel-type rotary engines. In addition, it improves the Wankel-type engine performance as follows:

Emissions and fuel consumption

Uses our proprietary low cost lean burn combustion process together with our patented combustion surface coating and pre-heated incoming fuel-air charge to greatly reduce both emissions and fuel consumption. This technology has the potential to eliminate both the lubrication and cooling systems.

Long engine life in a low-cost design

Uses a new proprietary rotor and rotor cooling technology to reduce rotor weight and related mechanical stresses throughout the engine. Uses new apex seal material and proprietary design to allow replacement of the costly plasma sprayed internal coatings with inexpensive plated surfaces.

Maximum power with minimum weight and size

Uses our proprietary porting design and advanced component development to generate twice as much power for its weight as the popular two-stroke competitor.

Modular design allows low cost power growth

Uses proprietary design that allows additional rotor housings and rotors to be added with only a change in the length of assembly bolts.

Ability to operate on any fuel

Proprietary technology developed to lower emissions and fuel consumption also allows the use of any type fuel with only minor changes in the fuel injection system.

While all of the above advantages make the rotapower engine attractive, the ultimate advantage of this engine is its ability to generate only 4% of the emissions of a four-stroke engine and 1% of the emissions of a two-stroke engine.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

The Freedom engine is based on the Wankel rotary engine, which was patented in the late 1950's by Felix Wankel. Why is the Freedom engine poised to capture a return on a $3 billion investment, 1500+ patents and 30+ years of Wankel engine development, application and experience?

Proven, Inexpensive Technology

The core technology was acquired from Outboard Marine Corporation who produced the only Wankel rotary engine ever manufactured in volume in the US. OMC spent over $125 million (1997 dollars) developing their rotary engine technology. They produced over 15,000 engines for their snowmobile line in anticipation of the demise of the two-stroke piston engine. These engines, collectively, have accumulated millions of hours in operation. Manufacturing cost comparisons performed by OMC validated the ability to produce their rotary engine at a competitive cost with their own two-stroke engine.

Patented Technology

Advanced proprietary improvements to the core technology, included in the rights acquired by the Company, have enhanced reliability significantly, improved fuel consumption and dramatically lowered emissions.

The Freedom engine, through a patent pending on intake porting and rotorinterface, combines the demonstrated reliability and fuel economy of the expensive rotary engines, with the low cost but less fuel-efficient OMC design. The Company acquired the entire OMC rotary engine technology and then developed new proprietary elements to reduce fuel consumption and emissions.  The Freedom engine reduces the total emissions by over 90% when compared with industrial four-stroke piston engines and recreational two-stroke engines.
For a graphical view of Freedom-Motor's ancestry, click here.  Freedom-Motors Ancestry (PDF, 15kb)

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

_________________________________________________________

Fundamental hardware differences between a 4-stroke piston and a Wankel rotary

• The Rotor replaces the piston engine's piston.
• The Eccentric Shaft replaces the piston engine's crankshaft and connecting rods.
• The Rotor Housing replaces the piston engine's cylinder.
• Intake and Exhaust Ports in the housings replace valves, camshafts, rocker arms, springs, lifter rods, and timing belts.

[Cloud William]

New (experimental?) aircraft designs, capable of 400+ mph flight at high altitude, mass-produced for the driving public.

Far out. ;^)

[Focault's Pendulum]

I want a jet pack to wear on my back so I can fly around. IF it can be made safe....

My cousin Ed Kurchewski was a test pilot for this back in the sixties. I rememer his picture appearing in Boy's Life magazine.

[Welsh Rabbit]

BTW anybody bought one of those Segways yet?

When the intentially leaked hype about the Segway first came about (calling it "It", and saying it will revolutionilze the way we move about), I was hoping it was some kind of flying device (realistically, I thought it might be a fuel cell). I was so disappointed when it turned out to be a gay looking scooter.

[mwyounce]

I was disappointed when new milennium came around and there weren't any flying cars yet...

You and that IBM commercial guy!

[martin_fierro]

"Where's my flying car? I WANT MY FLYING CAR!"

(remember that old IBM commercial?)

[martin_fierro]

You just beat me to it! See #38.

[raybbr]

You guys wait. When the gubment finds out they can tax the car, the driver and the insurance, it will come to pass.