SKYAID
New 
Mission
Overview   
Details    
Medical   
Watch   
Heart attack  
Stroke    
World health  
Emergency
Cost effective
Media 
- Site Map 

SKYCAR   
Details   
Overview  
VTOL   
Airline   
Military   
Transportation
Images 
- Site Map

Search

Translate 
  8 languages
 

{copy of } Letter from the President: December 2001 from http://www.moller.com/news/

 Season's Greetings!
Happy Holidays from all of us at Moller International! We have been as busy as Santa and his Elves getting ready for another round of flight tests. You shouldn't get us confused with the other famous VTOL aircraft often spotted during this time of the year. The objective for our sleigh will be to demonstrate extended hover stability. In these tests we will again be “flying” the Skycar on the tether, hovering at about ten feet AGL (above ground level).

The M400 Skycar^® is presently operating with single rotor Rotapower^® engines versus the two-rotor engine required to carry a full load. These engines have more than sufficient power for flight-testing when we are not allowed to carry passengers. However, the four-passenger design places the center of gravity (CG) further back when fully loaded than currently exists when flown remotely or when manned by a single pilot. With this zero-to-one-person load and both front and rear nacelles generating the same thrust, the thrust center is behind the CG. As a result, the front engines operate at near their maximum RPM while the rear engines were at a much lower RPM. In recent hover tests the M400 appeared very stable but, as a result of this RPM difference, control power in pitch was limited. This of course would limit the pitch stability if the M400 is disturbed by a gust of wind, etc.

To correct this, we moved the nose and front nacelles forward by 30 inches, which moved the CG to a more balanced position. With weather and holidays permitting, we expect to be back flight-testing before the end of December.
We are confident that these tests will demonstrate a stable and controllable M400 hovering out of ground effect for a significant period of time. We should be in a position to show this along with our next newsletter. The M400 is now 21 feet long and looks substantially the same although some of us think it looks sleeker.
Happy Holidays and Best Wishes for a Joyous New Year!

Paul S. Moller
President