Moller International
Letter
from the President
August 2008
Click here to download the full version of the Letter from the
President in PDF format (725kb size)
Volume 8, Issue 2
By Paul S. Moller, Ph.D.
Highlights
I apologize for the delay in providing you with my promised update on
negotiations related to putting our Rotapower® engines into volume
production. I underestimated the time
it took to put together the various components of an engine production joint
venture of this magnitude. Successful
engine production and sales are highly dependent on a number of elements
including:
- Raw material cost and availability
- Skilled and semi-skilled labor costs and
availability
- Production incentives offered by local, regional
and national governments
- The state of the transportation infrastructure
in the region
- Distributors and original equipment
manufacturers (OEMs) that see significant benefit from the use of our
engine.
M200
Update
We have
completed the Firefly’s airframe as shown and have most of the undercarriage
system components fabricated. The new undercarriage shock and suspension system
is made mostly of composite materials and has a full 12 inches of travel for
maximum impact safety.
The two
additional M200G airframes are now complete and awaiting outfitting with
engines, electronics, and undercarriage. A third is under construction. The
quadruple redundant stability system is progressing well under the direction of
our in-house electronic design consultant.
As a critical path element to the completion of any of the M200-class
vehicles, it is one of our top priorities in addition to engine production.
Engine Licensing Status
We
have progressed well in bringing together a number of joint venture
participants who directly or individually will help make a success of our
engine production joint venture.
One
of the reasons for the delay in reaching a final agreement is the number of parties
that are now involved, including:
- An
energy management group from a prestigious university,
- A
company that presently produces and sells two models of our Rotapower®
engine
- An
engine distributor in Europe
- One of
our major stockholders who has the right to distribute our engines in the
Middle East and India
- Rotapower
Engine Systems (RES) Ltd—the lead company in the joint venture
- Moller
International
- Freedom
Motors
- A
well-recognized name in the auto industry that plans to use our engine in a
Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV).
The terms and provisions of the Joint venture have
been worked out and there is fundamental agreement between all parties. However even at this stage tying it all
together legally could still take some additional time.
M400 Skycar® Available for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004
We are
pleased to report that we have a newly created, full-featured flight simulation
package for all of you who have been eager to try your hand at flying the
Skycar®. Rob Barendregt and
Stephen Vernava have created the first simulation of the Skycar that is both
fully-VTOL and able to fly in conventional flight mode for the Microsoft Flight
Simulator 2004. This “plug-in” to the
commercial software produced by Microsoft is a wonderfully detailed rendition
of the new folding-wing, four-passenger design that we have been working on for
the past several years.
After
months of effort, Rob and Stephen have produced a fantastic simulation of the
latest design. I provided the
performance details and through an iterative process the aircraft has now come
to life in this computer-driven model.
It’s as close as we can come to the production model for now, so give it
a try. I’m sure you’ll love it as much
as I do!
The
software is available from a number of Internet sites, including www.moller.com.
It is
offered free of charge, but does require you to have FS2004.
The model
supports both flight modes (V)ertical Take Off and Landing for “powered-lift”
operations and (F)light mode for conventional aerodynamic flying. It also has (T)est mode where you can try
everything out and (C)ar mode for long taxi or driving on the roads at low
speeds.
Moller International Achieves Breakthrough in Rotary Engine Performance
Davis, CA,
May 14, 2008 – Moller International (OTC-BB:
MLER) announced today that it has achieved a major breakthrough in
rotary engine performance. A version of
the Company’s Rotapower® engine is designed in such a way that the
engine’s two rotors operate in series rather than parallel. This design allows the first
compressor/expansion rotor to supercharge the second power rotor while the
exhaust from the power rotor is further expanded in the compressor/expansion
rotor, extracting additional power. In
effect, the engine operates in what is termed a compound cycle. Because of the additional energy captured
from the exhaust gases, engine noise is reduced by 93% and exhaust temperature
is reduced by 47%. Moller
International’s non-compounded Rotapower® rotary engine has already
demonstrated a fuel consumption 12% below that of the new Mazda Renesis rotary
engine. Compounding is expected reduce
the Rotapower® engine’s fuel consumption by an additional 25%.
Rotary
engines are particularly small and light relative to their power output and
nearly vibration- free in operation.
Compounding makes the Rotapower® engine potentially much
better than the piston engine in fuel consumption as well. This was the major limitation that prevented
the rotary engine from supplanting all piston engines. It now becomes an attractive candidate for
the Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) market where weight, space, fuel
consumption, emissions and vibration are all critical. The Rotapower® engine previously
demonstrated its ability to meet California’s Super Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle
(SULEV) standard without exhaust after-treatment.
Moller
International is in the final phase of negotiations to license worldwide
production and marketing rights for its Rotapower® engines to
Rotapower Engine Systems, Limited of Southampton, United Kingdom.
Moller International’s Volantor Production Schedule On-Track For 40
Units In 2009
Davis, CA,
July 17, 2008 – Moller International (OTC-BB:
MLER) announced today that it is in the process of completing its fourth
M200 volantor airframe. It expects to
complete forty of these fly-by-wire, multi-engine flying vehicles in 2009.
The
Company has received worldwide interest in this unique aircraft. In view of its
planned limited production through 2009, the Company is set to offer the
M200-class vehicles for sale only via an international auction. A potential bidder can become a “candidate
qualified to bid” by establishing his or her ability to meet the $150,000 reserve. No deposit will be required until a
successful bid occurs.
Qualified
participants will be advised on a regular basis as to the M200’s production
status and its anticipated auction schedule.
The initial volantor model being offered will be
the M200G ground effect vehicle that is designed for operation at up to 10 feet
above ground level. Constrained to this
altitude, the operators will not be required to have a pilot’s license. In addition to the M200G, the Company plans
to offer the M200E, a kit-built version of its aircraft with sales beginning in
2010. The M200E will not have the same
software enabled altitude constraints as the M200G and the Company expects the
M200E to be operable as an Experimental class aircraft.
"SAFE HARBOR" Statement:
This newsletter may contain forward-looking statements. The words
"estimate", "possible" and "seeking" and similar expressions identify
forward-looking statements, which speak only as to the date the
statement was made. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly
update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether because of new
information, future events, or otherwise. Forward-looking statements
are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot
be predicted, or quantified. Future events and actual results could
differ materially from those set forth in, contemplated by, or
underlying the forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties
to which forward-looking statements are subject include, but are not
limited to, the effect of government regulation, competition and other
material risks.
SkycarÒ, Aerobot®, RotaFan™ and Rotapower® are
trademarks of Moller International in the USA and other countries. All
other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
