DIXON, Calif. — A seemingly small brush fire turned into big losses for an inventor in Dixon. Not one but two of his flying cars were completely burned.
Paul Moller is the inventor of many things, but most notably he invented the Moller Sky Car. The 82-year-old has had some ups and downs in the flying car business, but on July 14 around 2 p.m., Moller experienced a new low.
There's no way to be sure, but Moller thinks a lawnmower sparked the brush fire that ultimately burned down the storage shed that housed the first two flying cars he ever built.
"I started building the first one in 1964," Moller said. "The frame is still left on the first one. The other is gone."
The two flying cars lost in the fire were prototypes built in the 1960s. Moller's latest prototypes are safe and still on display at his testing facility off Lincoln Highway in Dixon. That’s where Moller houses a variety of his inventions, including a drone he built for the military, and a stockpile of high-powered rotary engines.
"The rotary engine is the propulsion source for the flying car," he said.
Dixon inventor's one-of-a-kind vehicles
The high-powered rotary engine has been under development for 50 years. Moller's research on the engine has lead to a production contract.
"We have firm orders for 3.5 million engines," Moller said.
The mass production of his rotary engine will help him build capital and faith in the reliability of the flying car design.
Moller is a pioneer in the flying car industry. He can't tell you when the flying car will be available, but he can tell you that the fire that burned his old flying cars won't stop him from moving forward.
"What happens to these new vehicles is a lot more important than what happened to those vehicles," he said.
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