From: reganranch@aol.com (ReganRanch)
Newsgroups: rec.aviation.homebuilt
Subject: Re: Moller rotary engine and Skycar.
Date: 10 Mar 1998 15:54:55 GMT

>I just got done browsing Moller Int.'s web site at http://www.moller.com/
>and was wondering if anyone knows more about this company other than what's
>listed on their site.  Their claims seem almost to good to be true

That is because they are.

> and they
>are not clear on their on thier actual future availability or pricing.  If
>these things are so good why aren't they talked about more in places like
>this?  I've been watching this newsgroup for 8 month and dont remember ever
>hearing the name "Moller" or the name  "Skycar".


Paul Moller has been relieving investors of capital (one report has Michael
Jackson down for a deposit on #0001) in an attempt to invent the Skycar since
1964. The only financial success that has resulted was the development of the
Supertrapp muffler. The dream VTOL flight seems to have caused motivational
myopia. Once I overheard Paul state "Give me nuclear fusion and I'll give you
VTOL flight in a day". Sad thing is he was serious.

Early in my entrepreneurial carrier I had a business that failed. I'll admit to
that sooner than I'll admit to working at Moller for six months back in 1985
developing rotary engines for ducted fans. My advice to you. RUN!

Brent Regan

From: reganranch@aol.com (ReganRanch)
Newsgroups: rec.aviation.homebuilt
Subject: Re: Moller rotary engine and Skycar.
Date: 11 Mar 1998 04:56:06 GMT

Dave:

I don't know about the video but I was there for that flight. I was a partner
in a robotics business next door. Two of my partners and several employees were
also former Moller employees.

The airframe was a fiberglass clamshell about 8' in diameter with 8 each 34"
ducts arranged around the pilot. The biggest problem was getting all 8 of the
converted OMC snowmobile Wankel air-cooled engines started at the same time.
The thing sounded like the Dolby demo version of "Attack of the Killer Bees". A
safety cable ran up to a crane in case an engine quit (the saucer would invert
if one engine failed).

At the end of the day it took 384 horsepower to lift 835 pounds about 18 feet.
The pilot survived without being turned into lunchmeat. The craft "flew" a
couple more times and was then retired so the spin-doctors could take over.

Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?


Brent Regan

>some of you might get a chuckle out of my Molher experience. It was late
>sixties early seventies and there was a demonstration of the Mohler
>flying car mock up. I think it was at stanford but anyway it was indoors
>and on a stage in an auditorium. He and several workers came in with
>basically a portable cray computer wires everywhere and center stage a
>two foot across electric model skycar. It was basically a flying saucer
>with eight electric motors and a lot of computer control. After a half
>hour speech on what it could do he turned it on. It was sitting on a bar
>stool and did manage to rise up about two inches before it started to
>translate ,body language indicated that this was not planed .The
>screaming little car stopped translating wobbled for a bout one second
>then inverted and powered in. The curtain closed and we all waited for
>some explanition, after about 15 minuets we figured he wasn't coming out
>.He never did and I've never seen him since.
>
>In his info on the web page he claims that the promo video has flying
>footage of the prototype in tethered flight,has anyone seen this if so
>Id be tempted to buy the video myself but not until I hear that it
>really has flight footage
>dave morss