Moller International says its M200G 'flying saucer' can revolutionise personal travel

07 September 2007

Seen the Jetsons with their flying cars? Well, life may get to be a little more like the cartoon serial if a California company is to be believed. It says it is coming up with a personal aircraft, much like a flying saucer, which you and I can fly to work!

It has been called the vehicle of the future and the ultimate way to beat the rush hour commute. The M200G, called a 'flying saucer', is being built by a company called Moller International, based in Davis, California, which designs, develops, manufactures and markets personal vertical takeoff and landing aircraft.

Company representatives say the futuristic device is easy to operate, and has space for one passenger. Capable of vertical take-off and landing, the craft — so far just a prototype — hovers like a helicopter up to 10 feet off the ground.

It is the brainchild of Dr Paul Moller, an aeronautics engineer who says a highway in the sky could cut conventional commuter traffic in half. He feels the sky is a great space that is not being utilised. Cars, he says, are finished as a means of getting around. It's only a matter of time.

Eight engines power the flying sauce, which can run on petrol, diesel or even ethanol. Dr Moller and his team say they have already conducted more than 200 test flights. But Moller International has not yet decided which US agency — the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) or the Department of Transport — it will approach to authorise its use.

It says the flying saucer is a precursor to the M400— called the 'skycar' — which looks a bit like a Batmobile. Apart from vertical take-off and landing, the M400, it says, can be driven on the road as well as flown through the sky.