AMES MEDIA DAY FEATURES AIR SCOOTER WIND TUNNEL TESTS

Testing of a flying air scooter's lift power will be the focus of an Oct.
23 media day for reporters at NASA Ames Research Center in California's
Silicon Valley.

NASA Ames and Millennium Jet, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA, are working under a
cooperative agreement during development of the company's SoloTrek
XFVo/ooo
(Exo-skeletor Flying Vehicle), a one-person air scooter that someday may
fly commuters above traffic jams.

"Our researchers are working with engineers from Millennium Jet to test
one
of the air scooter's two fan assemblies in a wind tunnel to determine if
they can overcome gravity and raise the vehicle from the ground," said
engineer William Warmbrodt, head of the Aeromechanics Branch at NASA Ames.
"We won't know if the two ducted fans, as now designed, can lift the pilot
and vehicle off the ground until we do these tests."

 "We have all been dreaming of such a vehicle for many years, and now the
dream is becoming a reality," Millennium Jet, Inc. founder Michael Moshier
said.


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"NASA is interested in further developing vertical flight technologies --
from large transports to personal transportation systems," said Warmbrodt.
"NASA is supporting the company's efforts in engineering, technology and
testing, and giving advice when asked."

"We are doing this test in a wind tunnel because it's safe (a person does
not have to pilot the vehicle). The test will result in accurate
lift-force
data, and we can evaluate the duct and fan system throughout its operating
envelope under carefully controlled conditions," Warmbrodt said.

"Each of the five-bladed fans is about 3 feet in diameter and rotates in a
housing called a fairing or duct," explained Warmbrodt. The air scooter
tests are taking place in the 7-by 10-foot wind tunnel operated for NASA
Ames by the U.S. Army and the Army/NASA Rotorcraft Division. By mid
November, engineers hope to have final statistics to indicate if the
current ducted fans are strong enough to lift the air scooter.

"The air scooter has a tripod-stand-like structure, and the pilot stands
on
footrests.  The engine mounts to a tripod frame behind the pilot's back,"
Warmbrodt said.

Aeronautical engineers see potential for such air scooters to be future
personal transportation systems. These vehicles could be built for one or
multiple passengers with the ability to take off and land vertically and
to
be operated either autonomously or manually with "car-like" controls. The
military could use such vehicles to bypass obstacles like land mines,
blocked roads, impassable bridges or large areas of water, and for search
and rescue missions.

Other potential uses for such vehicles include providing
"instant-response"
medical attention, adding a third, vertical dimension for sport utility
vehicles, and rapid package delivery and transportation to and from
airports. Workers could use these vehicles to help construct and maintain
power lines, bridges and multi-story buildings. Additional uses for larger
air scooters might include planting, spraying and harvesting crops,
detecting and extracting land mines, conducting search and rescue missions
in adverse weather and participating in major chemical and biological
cleanups.

Further information on the Millennium Jet air scooter can be found at:
                                        http://www.solotrek.com

Details of Ames' Aeromechanics program can be found at:
                                        http://halfdome.arc.nasa.gov