grady@fxgrp.fx.com (Steven Grady) (01/18/90)
[reposted from "comp.society.futures" intact. Enjoy! -- Dave]
I'm not sure if this is strictly appropriate for comp.society.futures,
but I'm interested what people think the likelihood of this is, and what
the consequences might be..
[Reproduced without permission, as usual, from the 1/16/90 edition
of the "San Francisco Chronicle", p. B3]
George Jetson's Automobile
This is the stuff of comic books, sci-fi magazines and the dreams
of generations of little boys who loved machines.
It's called the Moller 400. In appearance it's a sleek cross
between a Corvette and a rocket ship. in function it's a car, helicopter,
and airplane all in one. It seats four, takes off vertically, can do 400
miles per hour, hover, land softly and park in your garage. And it's
almost as easy to operate as a video game.
The inventor of Moller 400 is Paul Moller, who now heads his own firm,
Moller International. He is putting the final touches on his masterpiece,
which he modestly calls "an alternative to the family car".
The Moller 400 is about ready for takeoff. It's 6 feet tall, 9 1/2
feet wide and 18 feet long. It has an economy cruising speed of 225 mph,
gets 15 mph to the gallon and is powered by eight 65-pound 528-cubic-
centimeter rotary engines. Each engine generates 150 horsepower, or more
than 2 horsepower per pound, four times that of a typical aircraft engine.
These eight compact engines are encased in four ducts. With no exposed
blades, the craft is much safer to maneuver on the ground than either a
helicopter or a small plane.
Moller has built the Moller 400 with safety in mind. Three on-board
computers check each other's work and can back up one another. These
computers will also provide the aircraft with a sophisticated collision-
avoidance system expected to aid air-traffic safety by the year 2000.
At speeds above 125 miles per hour, altitude can be maintained even
if six of the eight engines fail. And if all the engines die, the Moller
400 will land with the aid of an emergency parachute. Also, its 5-foot
stiletto nose will crumple to absorb shock.
Moller believes that the craft's first application will be performing
search-and-rescue missions in isolated areas. Still, there are a lot
of childhood dreamers already lining up for the fully certified craft.
According to director Jack Allison, marketing director for Moller Inter-
national, 47 people have already reserved a Moller 400 by paying a fully
refundable $5,000 deposit.
ODDS: 100 percent.
ETA: 1991.
PRICE: $100,000.
--------------------------------------------------
I'm not sure what the "ODDS" means. Probably the likelihood of its
existence by the year 2000. Anyway, it sounds pretty damn cool if
it exists, but is it a good thing to have in every garage? (Of course,
this is probably what people said about automobiles 100 years ago.)
I'm surprised it's so economical. $100K for the prototype suggests
to me that it might be below $40K in mass production. 15 miles/gallon
is pretty good too. I wonder how many gallons the gas tank holds...
Steven
...!ucbvax!grady
grady@postgres.berkeley.edu