VisorCentral.com - Way Cool Moller Skycar

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-- Way Cool Moller Skycar (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/showthread.php?threadid=12289)

Posted by swendor on 02-26-2001 07:36 PM:

On my way home this morning, I heard a news report on a flying car. A flying car!? WOW. A machine that can seat up to four, fly at 30,000 feet and cruise at nearly 400mph. But you can't drive it on the street. (I checked the website and found the media just hyped it up making me think I could be driving on the Beltway stuck in traffic and then just decide to go into "flymode.")

None the less, this is a revolutionary product. It even runs on regular gasoline!

Check it out here.

Posted by dick-richardson on 02-26-2001 07:54 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by swendor
On my way home this morning, I heard a news report on a flying car. A flying car!? WOW. A machine that can seat up to four, fly at 30,000 feet and cruise at nearly 400mph. But you can't drive it on the street. (I checked the website and found the media just hyped it up making me think I could be driving on the Beltway stuck in traffic and then just decide to go into "flymode.")

None the less, this is a revolutionary product. It even runs on regular gasoline!

Check it out here.

Yeah, but Ginger will do that and MORE!

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Abortion: Darwinism at its finest.

Posted by DBrown on 02-26-2001 08:13 PM:

The Moller Skycar (or earlier versions of it) has popped into the news about every 10 years in the last 30.

Even if it did work, the Govt. would never figure out how to license it. They don't really want everyone flying, or we already would be.

Personally, I'm content to stay grounded. The only kind of plane I want to be flying when it's motor dies is one that will still be able to fly me home and land me safely. They haven't invented that one yet.

Dave

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Posted by MPM on 02-26-2001 09:55 PM:

It's called an Autogyro...

quote:
Originally posted by DBrown
<snip>...The only kind of plane I want to be flying when it's motor dies is one that will still be able to fly me home and land me safely. They haven't invented that one yet.

Dave

Yes they have. Decades ago. It's called an Autogyro. It looks like a helicopter and has a rotor like one. But the rotor is NOT driven or connected to an engine at all. The Autogyro needs foward motion to spin up the rotor and keep it going. The rotating rotor then acts like a wing. The Autogyro cannot hover, but if the engine fails the spining rotor continues to rotate a provide lift. You then just "glide" down to a safe landing.

Helicopter pilots also use a similar "autogryo" technique to land safely if the engine fails.

And you're right, Moller has been showing off that non-functional "skycar" for decades. His early designs were nothing more than ground effect vehicles (hovercraft) and a variant on a helicopter. The "skycar" he keeps showing the public has been around in a couple different designs for decades, but has NEVER flown.

Posted by swendor on 02-27-2001 01:59 PM:

According to what I read on the website the newest model, the M400 has flown successfully. And according to the news report, a 12-yeal-old boy received five minutes of instruction and was flying soon after--nearly everything is handled by computer.

quote:
Yeah, but Ginger will do that and MORE!

Please elaborate...

quote:
The only kind of plane I want to be flying when it's motor dies is one that will still be able to fly me home and land me safely. They haven't invented that one yet.

It may not get you home, but in the event that an entire engine nacelle (each of 4 contains 2 engines) fails there are 2 parachutes built into the body which allow you to land safely.

Posted by dick-richardson on 02-27-2001 03:34 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by swendor
Please elaborate...

According to the lastest patent papers Ginger will fly, sing, dance, make coffee, recite poetry, watch the kids, walk the dog, change the litter box, make grilled cheese sandwiches, sync your visor, play tag, and shave.

__________________
-Joshua
Abortion: Darwinism at its finest.

Posted by EricG on 02-27-2001 04:01 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by dick-richardson

According to the lastest patent papers Ginger will fly, sing, dance, make coffee, recite poetry, watch the kids, walk the dog, change the litter box, make grilled cheese sandwiches, sync your visor, play tag, and shave.

Don't forget Ginger will be warm, fuzzy and friendly, politically correct, environmentally friendly and replace the family dog as man's best friend.

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Posted by Gameboy70 on 02-27-2001 04:20 PM:

What ever happened to my childhood dream of the Year 2000: jet packs?

Posted by dick-richardson on 02-27-2001 04:56 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by Gameboy70
What ever happened to my childhood dream of the Year 2000: jet packs?

Ginger will do that too!

__________________
-Joshua
Abortion: Darwinism at its finest.

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