21-02-2006
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#143 (permalink)
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Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Warwick,UK Real Name: Barry My Models: Aviation artifacts Visit wonwinglo's Gallery
Posts: 5,628
| Wonwings diary-The way we will travel in the future. THE MOLLER SKYCAR Imagine instead of driving to work you hop into your very own personal flying machine and literally hover over the traffic jams ? pure speculation or a figment of the imagination ? no the very concept of the flying car is being actively pursued by a company in America called 'Moller' this company has been actively developing the flying car of the future which will literally change the way we go about our everyday travel,unlike an helicopter which has rotor blades this is an high tech sophisticated machine which has adjustable engine pods which turn to give either forward or vertical flight,the aircraft will fly safely on one engine,the fan units are contained in a shroud with fan units that drive the aircraft,at the moment the aircraft is being actively tested in a tethered state but soon an exciting project will take place where it will be test flown across a large lake called Milk Farm,here over a 60 acre area the Skycar will be test flown with flotation gear attached at an altitude of 50 feet above the 10 feet deep specially built lake which has silt in the bottom and no rocks,this unique method of testing will ensure through test flying and development,full certification is aimed at not later than the year 2008. This machine is the only feasible and personally affordable vertical take off and landing ( VTOL ) vehicle in the world today. Moller are totally dedicated to the continued design and development of this remarkable step forward in creating a unique personal transport system,this is what they have to say about the Moller M400 Skycar- You've always known it was just a matter of time before the world demanded some kind of flying machine which would replace the automobile. Of course, this machine would have to be capable of VTOL, be easy to maintain, cost effective and reliable. Well, we at Moller International believe we have come up with the solution. That solution is the Volantor named M400 Skycar. Let's compare the M400 Skycar with what's available now, the automobile. Take the most technologically advanced automobile, the Ferrari, Porsche, Maserati, Lamborgini, or the more affordable Acura, Accord, or the like. It seems like all of the manufacturers of these cars are touting the new and greatly improved "aerodynamics" of their cars. Those in the aerospace industry have been dealing with aerodynamics from the start. In the auto industry they boast of aerodynamics, performance tuned wide track suspensions, electronic ignition and fuel injection systems, computer controllers, and the list goes on. What good does all this "advanced engineering" do for you when the speed limit is around 60 MPH and you are stuck on crowded freeways anyway? Can any automobile give you this scenario? From your garage to your destination, the M400 Skycar can cruise comfortably at 275 MPH (maximum speed of 375 MPH) and achieve up to 20 miles per gallon on clean burning, ethanol fuel. No traffic, no red lights, no speeding tickets. Just quiet direct transportation from point A to point B in a fraction of the time. Three dimensional mobility in place of two dimensional immobility. No matter how you look at it the automobile is only an interim step on our evolutionary path to independence from gravity. That's all it will ever be. Moller International's M400 Skycar volantor is the next step. We plan to begin untethered flights when we have at least one additional M400 nearing completion. All flights will occur over a specially constructed lake. This lake is part of the Milk Farm development , a commercial 60-acre development underway near the city of Dixon in California on Interstate 80. The lake will have an area of 5 to 6 acres and will be approximately 10 feet deep with a silt, rock free bottom. Most flights will occur at less than 50 feet altitude and will incorporate flotation gear attached to the Skycar. Passengers 4 Maximum speed 375 MPH Cruise speed (20,000 ft.) 275 MPH Range 750 Miles Size Large automobile Best mileage approx. 20 MPG Useful payload 750 lbs Can hover with one engine failed Uses non-fossil fuel (ethanol)
__________________ 'And there I was oil on my goggles from a broken pipe,then I looked at the altimeter,all I could see was the makers name !' www.wonwinglo.scale-models.net/ |
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