Paul Moller
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Paul Sandner Moller (born December 11, 1936, in Fruitvale, British Columbia, Canada) is a Canadian engineer who has spent over fifty years developing the Moller Skycar personal vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) vehicle. The engine technology developed for the Skycar has also been adapted as a UAV platform called the "aerobot".<ref>aerobot from Moller.com</ref> The rotapower engine itself has been spun off to a separate Moller company, Freedom Motors.
Education
Moller holds several degrees and certifications:
- D.A.M. (Diploma Aircraft Maintenance), Provincial Institute of Technology and Art, 1957
- D.A.E. (Diploma Aeronautical Engineering), Provincial Institute of Technology and Art 1958<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- Master of Engineering, McGill University, 1961
- Ph.D. in Aerodynamics, McGill University, 1963
Career
In 1972, Moller founded Supertrapp Industries to market his invention of an engine silencing system. Moller sold Supertrapp in 1988 in order to fund development of his Skycar and its rotapower engine.
In 2003, the Securities and Exchange Commission sued Moller for civil fraud (Securities And Exchange Commission v. Moller International, Inc., and Paul S. Moller, Defendants) in connection with value of shares after the initial public offering of stock, and for making unsubstantiated claims about the performance of the Skycar.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Moller settled this lawsuit without admitting guilt by agreeing to a permanent injunction against claiming projected worth of Moller International stock and paying US$50,000.<ref>Securities And Exchange Commission v. Moller International, Inc., and Paul S. Moller, Defendants from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission website</ref> The shareholders of Moller International - collectively known as SOMI ("Shareholders Of Moller International") banded together on a website (no longer active) to tell the Moller-side of the SEC issue.<ref>SOMI 2013 - Stock Holders of Moller International Template:Webarchive website with Moller's side of the SEC settlement story</ref>
Moller was a professor<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, from 1963 to 1975,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> at the University of California, Davis and lives in Davis. He was featured in Popular ScienceTemplate:'s January 2005 issue<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> and appeared on the radio show Coast To Coast AM.Template:Citation needed
In 2007, Moller announced that the M200G Volantor, a successor to the Moller Skycar, would hopefully be on the market in the United States by early 2008.<ref name=BBC>Template:Cite news</ref> His proposed Autovolantor model includes an all-electric version powered by Altairnano batteries.<ref>Paul S. Moller Autovolantor –An Automobile That Can Occasionally Operate Above Traffic Template:Webarchive, (presented at the 2008 SAE Wichita Aviation Technology Congress & Exhibition, August 21, 2008), www.moller.com website. Retrieved 09.24.2009.</ref>
Moller is President of Aerobotics Incorporated, a wholly owned subsidiary of Moller International, which designed an aerial system for video inspection of bridges, for Caltrans. The project was suspended in 2008 after significant issues were identified with the test design.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Moller's credibility has been questioned in recent years because of the vaporware nature of his creations. In April 2009, the National Post characterized the Moller M400 Skycar as a 'failure', and described the Moller company as "no longer believable enough to gain investors".<ref>"Flying cars"Template:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore. National Post, April 9, 2009</ref>
On May 18, 2009, Moller filed for personal protection under the Chapter 11 reorganization provisions of the federal bankruptcy law, however Moller International (corporation) did not file for bankruptcy and continues to do business Template:As of.Template:Citation needed
By 2009, Moller International had accumulated a deficit of $43.1 million.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In December 2020, A Moller International newsletter explained that the company remains inactive while waiting for Rotapower motor production in India.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
As of 2025, the last update provided by Moller is a June 2023 newsletter published to their blog which mainly discussed the company's newly obtained ability to sell 300 million additional shares of their company, as well as its legal permission to have a limited amount of share conversions from Moller International shares, to shares of its sister company Freedom Motors. Aside from that financial discussion, the newsletter outlines the benefit of converting to a hybrid power system, where batteries and electric motors are supplemented by the company's Rotapower engines as range extenders.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Media appearances
- Father of the Flying Car (2022)
- 2057 : "The Body" (2007)
- Future Fantastic (1996)
- Mythbusters (2005)
- Secrets of the Gods (The Force Beyond) (1977)