Moller to build first production flying car: the M200G Volantor

William Atkins
Sunday, 22 July 2007 21:08

Science - Space

Paul S. Moller, originally from Canada and now living in California, is an engineer and past professor at the University of California, Davis. In the 1970s, he founded Supertrapp Industries to develop a device to quiet engine noise. Moller sold the company in the 1980s so he could pursue his dream to develop a flying car. He has been working for forty years on various hovercraft and flying vehicles. The UFO-looking saucer-shaped craft is now being produced within his Moller International.

The M200G uses eight low-emission Rotapower engines (Wankel rotary engines, produced by Freedom Motors). Its advanced cooling system allows it to be a fairly lightweight vehicle. Its projected cruising speed is about 50 miles per hour at about 10 feet off the ground. It will hold up to 250 pounds of passenger(s) and/or cargo for a flight that would last up to 90 minutes.

The first uses of the M200G is being targeted for recreational uses, although Dr. Moller sees the flying car as a possible way to avoid traffic jams for morning and evening commutes to work.

On the Moller International website, it states, “Our purpose is to develop and put into use personal transport vehicles that are as safe, efficient, affordable, and easy-to-use as automobiles. These would not be constrained by existing transportation networks, and will provide quick and convenient transport to any destination better than any alternative.”

Moller also has under development the M400 Skycar, which is a four-person flying car that would travel at a cruising speed of 300 miles per hour, with a maximum speed of 360 miles per hour. It would have a maximum flying height of about 6.7 miles. Its expected purchase price is in the one million U.S. dollar range.

If successful, we might be able to call the M200G an IFO, for Identified Flying Object, instead of an UFO.