September 23, 2006: The Skycar - Dr. Paul Moller
Podcast: The Art Bell ArchivePublished On: Wed Jan 21 2026
Description: Art Bell welcomes Dr. Paul Moller, founder of Moller International, to discuss his decades-long quest to build a personal flying vehicle called the Skycar. Dr. Moller explains how the M400, a four-passenger vertical takeoff and landing craft powered by eight rotary engines derived from the Wankel design, could allow ordinary people to fly at speeds up to 300 miles per hour at altitudes reaching 25,000 feet. He details onboard computer systems that maintain stability even when an engine fails, correcting thrust imbalances in just 25 milliseconds.The conversation covers the proposed Highway in the Sky system, where GPS and supplemental navigation technologies would guide vehicles along virtual corridors, removing the pilot from the loop entirely. Dr. Moller notes that even a blind person could operate the Skycar under such automated control. He also reveals that unmanned versions have been delivered to the U.S. Air Force for airfield damage assessment.Art and Dr. Moller discuss mass production economics, with an eventual target price of 50,000 to 60,000 dollars per unit. They examine why American automakers failed to embrace hybrid technology while exploring ethanol as the ideal Skycar fuel, producing emissions so low the engine actually cleans the air in major cities.
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