Moller International, Inc. announced the postponement of the first manned untethered flight of its M400X Skycar that had been scheduled for October 11, 2011. “As Moller International moves forward with our new marketing and public relations campaigns, we find ourselves up against compounding deadlines, “said Jah Mackey, Director of Marketing for Moller International. “We have been working very hard to balance the needs and desires of our shareholders, potential sponsors, the FAA and the media. To address each group’s position, we have a step back in our execution time-line and created a campaign and event strategy that will satisfy everyone.”
Moller International’s new strategy includes several levels of corporate sponsorship, celebrity guests, press and analyst tours, FAA certification, strategically located viewing areas and live webcast of the flight and event presentations.
“Postponing the flight has presented us with many benefits,” stated Dr. Paul Moller, President of Moller International. “The postponement gives us ample time to create an event that will not be forgotten, it affords us the opportunity to develop strategic relationships that provide great potential beyond the initial sponsorship opportunities, and the awareness building campaign that promises to address many of our communication issues.”
The new flight date will be announced once the final approvals have been given from the FAA, event sponsors, Moller’s flight preparation team and an acceptable weather window can be identified.
“Postponing the flight was not our first choice,” stated Bruce Calkins, General Manager at Moller International. “However, as the scope of the flight event grew, we recognized the need to adjust our plans and incorporate additional activities and amenities for our guests, sponsors and the visiting media. To accommodate the changes to our plan and meet the FAA requirements for the flight, we reevaluated our location choices and found that Lake Minden not only met our initial requirements, but also exceeded our expansion expectations.”
Moller International formerly Moller Aircraft had its origins in research carried out by Dr. Paul Moller when he tested a scale model of his VTOL capable aircraft in 1961. A full-size version of the earlier VTOL aircraft was demonstrated in 1965. In 1967, research was conducted with the specific purpose of developing vertical takeoff aircraft for the consumer market.
Source: Press Release