SOUTH KOREA'S Samsung Aerospace, has agreed to study the feasibility, of jointly developing a four-seat vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft with US designer, Moller International.
Davis, California-based Moller, has been developing the ducted-fan Skycar since 1983 and has invested $35 million in the programme to date.
The Skycar has four ducted fans at the "corners" of the aircraft. Each duct, houses a pair of contra-rotating fans, each individual fan driven, by a rotary engine. The fixed forward-facing ducts act as annular aerofoils in forward flight, while vanes vector the fan thrust for vertical lift and flight control.
A precursor of the Skycar, a single-seat saucer-shaped aircraft with eight lift fans, has been flown some 200 times, Moller says. A prototype Skycar has been completed and is awaiting development, of the powerful, lightweight rotary engines, required to make the concept viable. The high installed power results in an estimated cruise speed of 355kt (660km/h).
Moller says that it is close to completing a prototype twin-rotor engine weighing 30kg and producing 120kW (160hp). Samsung's initial interest is in the engine, which should be in production by the end of 1995, Moller says.
The Korean Company is conducting a two-month study of the engine and Skycar before deciding whether to invest in their development.
Source: Flight International
