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OTHER MARKETS
The light aircraft market
The initial market for the Skycar will be corporations and wealthy or owner-operators who wish to pilot the vehicle themselves or retain a pilot and replace their private helicopter or small airplane - Moller already has over 100 orders for M400's - this market includes small business people, doctors, sales representatives, upper managers in companies and government, etc.
The M400 Skycar should be able to compete successfully against light airplanes, and against small helicopters where extended hovering is not required - the Skycar can be used for news gathering and traffic reporting, courier and small parcel delivery, and corporate, hobby and recreational transportation.
The regional airline market
When electronic piloting is implemented, the Skycar can be used by regional airlines to improve service - it can provide superior service at a similar cost to the short hop jet - the initial fare for a Skycar regional airline would be 18¢ per passenger mile for a 200 mile trip, based on a model of the operational costs for a regional airline using data from Aircraft Economics, March 1993 - this compares to conventional aircraft fares of 13¢ to 35¢ per passenger mile.
Skycar Improves Service for Regional Airtravel |
| Short time between flights -- as often as every 5 min. on busy routes |
| Shorter check-in and boarding time -- be airborne in as little as 5 minutes |
| Guaranteed flight any time of the day -- an option |
| Guaranteed flight -- 10X fewer delays due to maintenance or poor weather |
| Flights to small cities -- on routes having as few as 10 passengers/hour |
| Direct flights between cities separated by less than 700 miles |
| Flights landing near or in cities -- on very small landing sites |
The Skycar can even compete on some 400-2000 mile trips - it may have a somewhat higher ticket price than the conventional aircraft, but passengers will not have to wait for a scheduled departure or wait at intermediate airports.
Why the M400 Ride Is Similar in Cost to the Regional Jet Ride |
|
M400 has: |
Results in: |
| 4 times lower cost per seat than jet | $50K, not $200K per passenger seat purchase cost |
| Fewer service employees | No pilots or cabin attendants for air
taxi - fewer baggage, ticket handlers |
| More passenger seats filled | Jet = 50%- 67% due to fixed schedule
- anticipate over 80% for M400 with fly on demand |
| Quick stopover plus return to cruise speed |
12 minutes fuel stop vs. 30 - 60 minute for jet |
| Lower maintenance and spares cost | Spare M-400s are quickly available if
immediate maintenance is needed - very few parts are needed. |
Trips significantly longer than 450 miles may require short rest stops for the passengers - the vehicle will need to be refueled every 900 miles.
Travelers may even enjoy the refueling stops on long Skycar trips - they can, for example visit attractions such as Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, or Las Vegas - an option not easily available to current airline passengers.
Law enforcement and rescue
With or without electronic piloting, the Skycar makes an excellent police vehicle - it can respond instantly, fly between buildings to pursue and trap criminals, assess situations, and control crowds.
The Skycar can be used for such operations as search and rescue, ambulance, ski patrol, forest fire patrol, disaster evacuation, and relief - it surpasses helicopters for most applications not requiring long hover or large payload - helicopters can typically respond to only 30% of calls, but the Skycar, which is able to fly at night, operate in most weather conditions, and land in smaller areas, should have close to a 90% response rate.
The US Coast Guard can use M400 Skycars to perform border and drug patrol, and search and rescue at sea.
The Moller Skycar should, because of superior capability, ease of use, and lower cost, greatly expand the use of air vehicles in law enforcement, small quasi-military police actions, surveillance, and rescue operations - the future 6-passenger vehicle will be particularly useful as an ambulance.
Military
The M400 Skycar has characteristics and options that can exceed those of many other air vehicles for government agencies and military uses.
The VTOL Skycar can take off or land on a small area - its fan blades are enclosed for safety - no airport or other permanent ground facility is needed.
The Skycar appears to be the only aircraft usable by the Navy on non-aircraft ships - due to its 1/10 second reaction time and enclosed fan blades it could take off or land on a small deck even in rough seas.
The Skycar is small, simple, easy to maintain, and can be transported without disassembly.
The Skycar avoids detection - it is small, quiet, cool, and hugs the ground - it also outmaneuvers other unmanned air vehicles, helicopters, and reconnaissance aircraft.
Optional Kevlar armor would make the Skycar impervious to small automatic gunfire - also, since no part is flight-critical, the Skycar can continue to fly with a hole shot through it in any direction.
Unmanned autonomous or remotely controlled use of Skycars is practical, with larger payload (1000 lbs) than for other unmanned autonomous vehicles - the Skycar also has a longer flight endurance, and is sufficiently capable to handle many missions that previously required a human pilot, making it cheaper and more expendable for hazardous missions.
The Skycar can be used by military personnel as an "air jeep" or ambulance - going faster, further, and in a greater variety of weather and battle conditions than small helicopters - it can descend for landing in enemy territory in 3 minutes from an altitude of 20,000 feet.
The Skycar can be considered for various military missions (updated Feb. 2001)
1. Medical evacuation
2. Surveillance
3. Search & rescue
4. Future Combat System support vehicle
5. Reconnaissance (intelligence, battle damage assessment, etc.)
6. Special Operations Force insertion/extraction
7. Communications retransmission platform
8. Jamming platform
9. Unmanned variants to perform duties in dirty, high-risk environments
10. Weapons platformWhile large helicopters and reconnaissance and fighter airplanes will continue to be needed in the military setting to carry heavy firepower or armor, the Skycar should capture a significant share of the lightweight portion of this market, as well as expanding it for new missions.