Dr. Paul Moller, CEO of Moller International, returns to share progress on his M400 Skycar, a four-passenger vertical takeoff and landing vehicle powered by eight compact Wankel rotary engines producing two horsepower per pound. He explains that the breakthrough came from decades of rotary engine development, with each engine small enough to hold in two hands yet delivering 160 horsepower. The vehicle's quadruple-redundant computer system maintains stability during vertical flight and has proven capable of handling engine failures mid-flight.
Moller describes a future where the Skycar, priced around $50,000 in mass production, could travel at 380 miles per hour, achieve 28 miles per gallon at cruising altitude, and operate within a computerized airway network requiring no pilot skill. Art imagines hopping the mountain between Pahrump and Las Vegas in 15 minutes. Moller notes that mutual noise cancellation technology is the next major research priority to enable residential takeoffs and landings.
Key Moments
A four-passenger Skycar at mid-priced Mercedes money: Asked what the M400 would cost in mass production, Moller estimates around $50,000, comparable to a mid-priced Mercedes, with cheap electronics and software replacing most of the expensive mechanical hardware of a traditional aircraft.
Becoming a mechanical hummingbird: Moller says the trick to lifting four people vertically is becoming a mechanical hummingbird, requiring high power-to-weight ratio. The airframe was ready years ago; for the last decade they were waiting on engines that could lift it and tolerate failure.
Two moving parts, two horsepower per pound: The Wankel rotary engine has only two moving parts versus 46 in a comparable piston engine, and the Moller engines deliver about two horsepower per pound, roughly four times what a typical automotive or aircraft engine produces.
Eight engines, lose one and keep flying: The M400 uses eight small Wankel engines integrated through a computer; one can fail and the vehicle keeps flying. Moller says they have already proven this in the M400 and earlier in the M200, where they did not even notice the loss until landing.
Top speed 380, cruise over 300 mph: Moller says the M400's top speed is 380 mph and it can cruise well over 300 mph at 25,000 feet, with small jet-like wings that let it punch through wind and gusts that would upset a conventional plane.