The world imagined in a 1960 Science-Fiction TV Series took a step closer to reality with the announcment by Moller International, Inc., the developer of the Rotapower line of rotary engines and the Aerobot line of Unmanned Aircraft Systems, that the Federal Aviation Administration has accepted its application for Experimental Airworthiness Certification of the M400 Skycar.
With the announcement of their October 2011 demonstration flight, Moller International retained a flight test consultant to complete and submit an application for an Experimental Airworthiness Certificate to the Federal Aviation Administration for the M400 Skycar volantor. The Experimental Airworthiness Certificate is required by the FAA in order to operate the manned and untethered Skycar in United States airspace, and is the last step in Federal regulatory requirements prior to the start of flight test.
Typically, the Experimental certificate signals the beginning of flight test for an air vehicle, and is the first step in the research and development process leading to aircraft Type Certification. The application was submitted to the FAA on June 21, 2011. A flight test plan is currently being prepared by the consultant in accordance with FAA guidelines for experimental aircraft, and is expected to be completed by the end of July.
Move over Jeff Tracy – Thunderbirds Are Go !
- Supercar (from the makers of ‘Thunderbirds’)
Thunderbirds is a British mid-1960s science fiction television show devised by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and made by AP Films using a form of marionette puppetry dubbed “Supermarionation”. The series followed the adventures of International Rescue, an organisation created to help those in grave danger using technically advanced equipment and machinery. The series focused on the head of the organisation, ex-astronaut Jeff Tracy, and his five sons who piloted the “Thunderbird” machines.
Source: Press Release/Web-site