Paul Moller's Skycar: Will It Fly?

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In summary, Paul Moller has a great idea for a flying car, but his technology is not ready yet. His car looks great, but the world is not ready for it.
  • #1
Ivan Seeking
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I have been following this guy for about as long as I can remeber. I told an aerospace engineering friend about Moller's claims and he started to laugh. What do you think? Is Moller going to pull this off, is he overreaching, or is this a scam? He is now taking orders. I saw a TV news report that he received an FAA license

He has a vision, but does he have the Wright stuff?

In a business world trapped in cycles of short-term thinking, Paul Moller is at once a freak and an object of awe. He is what many hotshot entrepreneurs wish they could be: a genius whose project could change life as fundamentally as the first car.

Yet Moller's record would leave any entrepreneur cold: 40 years of work, $200 million and two failed marriages, and he's still not even close to a payoff.

Moller, 60, is trying to make a flying car. (Flash graphic: How the Skycar works) [continued]

http://www.usatoday.com/money/2004-03-30-skycar_x.htm

See also Moller's web site:
http://www.moller.com/

http://www.moller.com/centerimage/main1-skycar.gif
 
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  • #2
The SkyCar kicks ASS. I think it'll work -- but it'll be too expensive for us peons to buy. They cost even more than a normal airplane, if I remember probably.

- Warren
 
  • #3
And if mass produced it will certainly make the inventor a very, very rich man
 
  • #4
I've been watching him for a while too, and think it is a great idea and concept, but his vision seems so far away from reality right now... The trafficrules in the sky would be so complex and detailed, that it appears impossible for any organisation to manage them... And even harder to program them into an autonomous flying machine... Maybe for a single country, some rules could be stated, but if the rules change in the neighboring country ( which, due to lack of political will, is likely ) the machine needs to know those rules too... I can't imagine how this system will work, considering how big differences you see everywhere... The governments of the world isn't ready for such a challenge... IMHO...
That said, I love the idea of flying cars, and I'm certain that is our future... But not yet, unfortunately. I also think Dr Mollers car looks great, and will work well some day, but our world isn't ready yet...
That is how I feel about it, until I get some info that leads me to another conclusion...

Beste regards

Thomas Hansen
 
  • #5
Actually. Airborne conflict resolution isn't nearly as hard as we make it seem. Moller is most surely an aviation visionary, but he is not an ATC or avionics visionary. The RTCA, EuroControl, and other organizations have done a great deal of work on what is now known as "Airborne Conflict Resolution" but was once known as "Free Flight".

It boils down putting colored bands on the flightdeck instrumentation -- letting the pilot know what speeds, headings, altitudes, rate-of-climb, etc are problematic and which are conflict-free. This is easily accomplished using GPS, a glorified walkie-talkie, and some very modest computing power. Far cheaper, safer, faster, and more efficient than the current ATC system, but -- alas -- changing the system was difficult enough *before* 9/11. Now it is seemingly impossible.

But all that is a digression. :) What I really want to say is that preventing conflicts is easy as long as you do *not* use "rules of the road" based on terrestial notions such as, well... roads. The last thing you want to do is confine the traffic to fixed "airways" which has the effect of a) greatly increasing the liklihood of conflict vs. utilizing the entire sky, b) significantly reducing the maneuvering options, and c) requiring aircraft which have maneuvered (perhaps to avoid a traffic conflict or weather) out of the "airway" to re-enter it rather than simply continuing to their destination from wherever it is they happen to find themselves. In short, airways greatly increase (not decrease) the complexity of the conflict resolution problem and the difficulty of solving it.

Martin.
 
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  • #6
Do you guys own cars? :) Have you seen *how many* horrible drivers are on our roads these days? Do you really want to be a mile in the sky with those drivers?
 
  • #7
Where's My Flying Car?

...What will happen, explained Bushnell and Dr. Bruce Holmes, NASA's General Aviation Program Manager at Langley, is the development of automated aircraft that operate without human pilots. Onboard computers will fly the aircraft and negotiate with other aircraft computers and with ground stations to determine who's in line to land, fly at this altitude and direction, and so on.

http://www.nasaexplores.com/show2_articlea.php?id=01-003

Also, I predict that flying cars will come soon, but Moller's car will never see practical use except for the extremely wealthy. This is the sad fact that struck me about Moller: His is not the correct approach to make this happen. Other more practical efforts are under way.
 
  • #9
Why must I be taunted by such things. By the time I ever see a flying car in action I'll be 50 and it will only be affordable to very rich people.
 
  • #10
I don't think it will ever happen. The idea is to taek off vertically from your driveway, but that would mean the sound of a helicopter or a Herrier "jump jet" every time the nieghbors pull out of their garage. It would also mean uncontrolled air traffic, and you know the Govrnment can't allow that, the death toll would be enormous! So if ti ever goes into mass production/use, it will be restrited to airpoerts, making it another (very expensive) private aircraft, with no advantages that I can see over those currently in use.

I think the Aerocar is a much more utilitarian idea.
 
  • #11
No one expects this to happen with operator controlled crafts. As quoted from the NASA info link, this will all be automated. Also, some more practical approaches such as the NASA tailfan utilize a short, horizontal take off. This concept might work even without a VTO scheme.

There is a neighborhood near Folsom Ca that accommodates the use of private aircraft. The street is a runway. I found it amusing that in order to clear the wings, the mail boxes are only three feet high. Anyway, apparently this neighborhood doubles as a practical private airport.
 
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  • #12
Future Flyers: Pushing Forward for Personal Aircraft

Ask science fiction fans about the future and no doubt they'll tell you it's full of flying cars.

The concept of personal flying machines seems to be as old as the aviation itself, yet cars, trucks and buses still claim the transportation throne.

However NASA researchers, as well as private aviation engineers, are working to develop the next step in personal air transportation.

The Personal Air Vehicle Exploration (PAVE) program at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton Virginia, for example, is working to develop easy-to-use aircraft that may one day take you from your garage to the airport and on to your destination, saving time - and hopefully dollars - otherwise be spent on a public flight.

"That's always been the dream," said Andrew Hahn, PAVE vehicle sector analyst at Langley, of flying cars. "Our plan is to have a flying demonstrator by [2009]." [continued]

http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/pave_techwed_040818.html
 
  • #13
Preventing aging so future technologies can be better appreciated

DarkAnt said:
By the time I ever see a flying car in action I'll be 50
If the thought of being 50 concerns you, you may wish to take steps now to slow down your rate of biological aging.
 
  • #14
DarkAnt said:
Why must I be taunted by such things. By the time I ever see a flying car in action I'll be 50 and it will only be affordable to very rich people.
So what's the problem with being 50? :confused:
 
  • #15
So what's the problem with being 50?

You don't remember?

uh oh. :biggrin:
 
  • #16
The main difficulty with the Moller projects seem to be related to the power to weight ratio of the engines / turbines.
Yes, the concept will ultimately work, no - it will remain a rich kids toy until price drops V.significantly.
Other considerations are : "Speed? Range? Oh.. right.. so now there are 50 000 of them and increasing... what about our geopolitical, customs, quarrantine, immigration controls??"
 
  • #17
More from NASA

SEATTLE (AP) -- It's a frustrated commuter's escapist fantasy: literally lifting your car out of a clogged highway and soaring through the skies, landing just in time to motor into your driveway.


Researchers stress that the ultimate dream - an affordable, easy-to-use vehicle that could allow regular people to fly 200 miles to a meeting and also drive 15 miles to the mall - is still probably decades away.

But engineers at NASA, Boeing Co. (BA) and elsewhere say the basis for a flying car is there. People have been building, or trying to build, such vehicles for decades. [continued]

http://www.rednova.com/news/stories/1/2004/08/28/story001.html
 
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  • #18
Ivan Seeking said:
More from NASA



http://www.rednova.com/news/stories/1/2004/08/28/story001.html


Moller has envisioned a car that is fully automated. Navigation would be computer controlled, and the computer would communicate to a central air traffic center-like an air traffic control tower. It would receive information and traffic updates from the central computer system. That would eleminate the accidents.
 
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  • #19
Zantra said:
Moller has envisioned a car that is fully automated. Navigation would be computer controlled, and the computer would communicate to a central air traffic center-like an air traffic control tower. It would receive information and traffic updates from the central computer system. That would eleminate the accidents.

I would never say it would eliminate accidents. There is still the possible (probable) computer programming faults, mechanical failures, etc, that can cause accidents.

Say a car's mechanical system fails while's its a few hundred (or thousand) feet in the air, it falls down and crashes into some building or some other car. Ouch!
 

1. What is Paul Moller's Skycar and how does it work?

Paul Moller's Skycar is a personal aircraft designed by inventor Paul Moller. It is a vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) vehicle that uses four ducted fans for propulsion. The Skycar is powered by eight rotary engines and can reach speeds of up to 350 mph.

2. Has the Skycar been successfully tested and flown?

The Skycar has undergone multiple test flights, but it has not yet been approved for public use. In 2003, a prototype of the Skycar successfully completed a 3-minute test flight. However, due to funding and regulatory challenges, the Skycar has not been able to obtain full certification for commercial use.

3. How safe is the Skycar?

The Skycar has safety features such as a parachute system and a backup power source to ensure a safe landing in case of engine failure. However, as with any new technology, there are inherent risks and safety concerns that need to be addressed before the Skycar can be approved for public use.

4. When will the Skycar be available for purchase?

At this time, there is no official release date for the Skycar. The inventor, Paul Moller, has stated that the Skycar will be available for purchase once it obtains full certification and approval from regulatory agencies. However, due to the complex nature of the certification process, it is difficult to predict an exact timeline.

5. What are some potential uses for the Skycar?

The Skycar could potentially be used for personal transportation, emergency response, and military applications. It could also be used for short-distance trips, such as commuting to work or traveling between cities. However, the practical uses of the Skycar will depend on its cost, availability, and regulatory approvals.

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