Buy a Moller SkyCar Prototype on eBay

HobbySpacer writes "Moller International has announced that it will offer its first working Skycar for sale on eBay starting January 31st - Press Release. The M400P prototype has repeatedly flown short hovering flights on tethers in tests since 2001 (see videos). The company warns that although '[a]ll systems are operational. Potential buyers are cautioned that this is a prototype model and considered an experimental aircraft.' Also, 'the Skycar has not yet been approved as a road vehicle.' A more powerful 2nd gen production version is currently under construction for longer untethered test flights this year."

Comments

Affordable?

[theNote]

The site says the car is "personally affordable".

Then, when you click on the purchase link you find out it costs $1,000,000.

Legal to fly

[mikewas]

This falls within the experimental aircraft catagory. This includes just about any aircraft that didn't come off of an assembly line including one-of-a-kind or kit-built aircraft as well as aircraft not designed for commercial use like warbirds.

The Experimental Aircraft Asscociation is a group of people interested in these types of aircraft. There's a large airshow hosted by them in Osh Kosh.

These aircraft are subjected to thorough inspection by certified mechanics and FAA inspectors during their construction or restoration. In addition, owners of this type of aircraft tend to be more knowledgable than your average privat pilot. The result is that aircraft certificated (it's an FAA term, not a typo) as experimental aircraft have an excellent safety record. You can fly them anywhere any other private aircraft may be flown.

Re:Moller...bwahahahahaha

[spun]

My friend's dad taught helicopter flight in the navy. Two things would actually require a change of shorts on occasion. Autorotation landing was one. He also used to reset the altimiter in dual engine helicopters and have the cadet try to restart the engine before the copter crashed. The poor cadets would think they were about to pancake on the ground when they failed to restart the engine in time, when in reality they had hundreds of feet to spare.

Now why would picturing some poor sap's mortal terror be so funny to me?

You couldn't do that with autorotation practice, though. Like you said, you have one shot to do it right, otherwise you have used up all your rotational energy and are too close to the ground to restart the engines. You have to do it at the right time, I believe that the ground effect has something to do with it working right as well.

Scary!