Over the Edge + February 1, 2006 News 5 Canadian Inventor Designs First Flying Car GRAPHIC SUBMITTED More than 30 years after Chitty Chitty Bang Bang first flew across the silver screen, a Canadian inventor has designed a real-life flying car. KURT HEINRICH THE MARTLET (UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA) VICTORIA (CUP) - “It’s a bird! It's a plane! No, it’s ...a Skycar!” That's what Skycar inventor Paul Moller hopes we'll all be saying in the future. The B.C.-born inventor and head of Moller International has spent his en- tire life working to realize his dream of developing a flying car to revolutionize public travel. Inspired by hummingbirds when he se transat HOLIDAYS Sunburst Travel & Cruises Ltd. was a young man growing up in Trail, B.C., Moller has gone through hun- dreds of millions of dollars, survived repeated bankruptcies, and_ developed numerous new technologies on his quest to change the way we travel. “Te will change the way we live for just about everyone, said Moller from his office in Davis, California. “There are a whole bunch of things that will change. The ability to go anywhere you want isn't something we can do today. This is a way where everyone would have the option.’ His company, Moller International, intends to do this through the design and eventual mass production of the M400 Skycar, one of a series of models the inventor has been developing since his first days in graduate engineering studies at McGill University. Using a hybrid technology developed for helicopters and aircrafts, with prin- ciples gathered from the British Har- rier jump jet, Moller's new vehicle can carry four passengers at a top speed of over 600 kilometres per hour at an alti- tude of over 4 kilometres. While the shape of the car has changed over time, the engine has also significantly evolved. “Really, the key to the sky car is the power of the engine,’ said Moller, “The engine is continually being improved. It gets better and better by the year.’ ~ Moller’s engine ‘is both powerful and safe, Like Indy formula racers, the Sky- car runs on ethanol alcohol, which is produced from biomass. - The fuel is also more economical. It is roughly equivalent to the price of gasoline at the moment, though Moller is confident that when his invention reaches the level of mass production the price of ethanol fuel will drop sig- nificantly. While the fuel may be more af- fordable, the M400 Skycar certainly isnt—at least not at the moment. Costing roughly $500,000 US (nearly -$582,000 Cdn) each, they command a hefty price tag, which the company believes will significantly diminish after mass production begins, - Once factories begin pumping out Skycars at a faster rate, the company expects the price tag for your brand new vehicle to drop to that of a “qual- ity automobile,” or around $60,000 to $80,000 US ($70,000 to $93,000 Added to the price of the car will of course be your insurance premiums; at the moment Moller International's in- surance costs are so high that its proto- type can only be flown while tethered to a large crane by a safety cord to pro- tect it from “catastrophic failure.’ ‘The inability to test the M400 with- out the safety tether is only one of the many challenges Moller has faced. DIRECT FLIGHTS FROM Prince George Occidental. 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Pomerts, het mambars of Transat A. = GETAWAYS Feb7 Tweek Reg SALE The inventor remembers a number of times when his dream was on the cusp of oblivion, and he was on the edge of bankruptcy, with Moller International owing millions, the staff working with- out pay, and the bank threatening to close the shops doors. Moller refers to his company’s recov- eries in an almost spiritual way. “Fve _ had a number of miracle recoveries,’ he declared emphatically when speak- ing of the many last-minute opportun- ities he has seized to keep his company afloat and his dream alive. “The biggest triumph has been survival.” Yet while the Skycar and the com- pany have survived the financial perils, the newest challenge for Moller Inter- national is transforming its prototype M400 into a commercially market- able product. Partnerships have been formed with Pratt & Whitney for the production of the engine, though the company is still searching for an aero- space partner to produce the body. It is a search that is increasingly drawing their attention outside of North Amer- ica, “The US is not very good at the inter- mediary stage between invention and execution, said Moller, who says the company has now been forced to exam- ine development offers in both China and India. Despite these difficulties, Moller is confident that one day very soon Skycars will revolutionize the way the world travels. “I think we will be out there with vehicles by 2008,” said Moller confi- dently. Puerto Vallarta & Vallarta Nayarit Ask about our SPECIAL RATES for «« 799 699 room Feb 28 lweek - 919 79 1499 Bh... 1729 2729 2679 1929 1599 10 or more people! YOUR ALL INCLUSIVE 3 meals. daiiy, and non-alcoholic drinks, numerous activities and sometimes even a few extras! 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