> According to the Merrill Lynch 2007 World Wealth Report there are 9.5
> million millionaires in the world and they control a total of $38.5
> trillion - nearly all of which is liquid and available for investment
> and consumption.
>
> If 5%% of this money was direct toward the purchase of VTOL capable
> capable aircraft, that would amount to $2 trillion - and at $500,000
> per copy, that would be 4 million vehicles.   Spent over a 10 year
> period, that would be a production rate of 400,000 per year.   With an
> airframe lifetime of 10 years - this sizes your factory.

>
> Demand relative to production, sizes your price.
>
> This is given to engineers to achieve price points and volume within
> this 'production box' = there's also the recurring cost of maintaining
> and operating the vehicles.
>
> Fuel and Oil
> Scheduled Maintenance Labour
> Unscheduled Maintenance Labour
> Engine Overhaul
> Airframe Overhaul
> Airframe Lifed Items
>
> http://www.helinews.com/turbinecomparison.shtml
>
> Say, $150 per hour - and you fly 300 mph - that's $0.50 per mile -
> 30,000 miles per year - that's $15,000 - which is nothing for these
> folks.   Costs could be double that - and it would still be nothing.
>
> 4 million aircraft x $15,000 per year = $60 billion/yr
> 400,000 aircraft per year x $500,000 = $200 billion/yr
>
> With highly automated flight controls, which Moller is talking about
> it makes more sense to arrange fractional aircraft ownership, and pay
> just the recurring cost - that way
>
> So, an 'air taxi' that serviced say New York, would fly someone point
> to point say 10 miles - for $10 - and make a decent profit.   This
> could easily transition to a cross country flight - of say 300 miles -
> for $230 - without all the hassle at the airport and such.
>
> So a GPS enabled cell phone would call an air taxi to dispatch an
> automatically guided Moller skycar to your point of call - in minutes
> picking you up.   There'd be a $5 pick up fee - non-refundable - and
> $0.75 per mile distance fee - all billed when you entered your
> destination code during your call.   In fact, GPS derived 'waypoints'
> could be stored on your phone - so that you would just select 'home'
> or 'golf' or 'Laguna Fred' or 'Matt' as you desire.
>
> How many aircars would be needed for this?
>
> Well, here are the sales of the top 11 airlines in the world;
>
> AirFrance  KLM   $31.0 billion
> Lufthansa            $26.5 billion
> TUI                     $24.3 billion
> AMR Corporation $22.6 bilion
> JAL                    $18.1 billion
> UAL                   $18.0 billion
> Delta                  $17,3 billion
> British Airways    $17.0 billion
> Virgin Group        $08.0 billion
> Cathay Pacific     $07.7 billion
>
>   TOTAL             $190.5 billion
>
> At $0.75 per mile this represents a potential market for 445 billion
> miles - with up to 4 passengers - 1,780 billion seat miles - at 50%%
> occupancy 890 billion passenger miles.
>
> Ride sharing options on the software would be welcome ways to increase
> occupancy and reduce passenger costs.  That $230 cost could be reduced
> to $62 per passenger if shared by four -each paying a 'pickup' charge.
>
> Say a Moller based air taxi service penetrates 20%% of this market -
> that's 90 billion miles per year.   Limiting service to 4,383 flight
> hours per year - and an average speed - of 300 mph - that's 1,314,900
> miles per vehicle.  That's 68,446 vehicles. - say 80,000 vehicles -
> 20%% of one years production
>
> One year's production i.e 200,000 vehicles - operated tihs way - could
> displace the airlines for short haul travel - while 80%% of production
> would fill 50%% of millionaire buyers over a 10 year period - at these
> prices.
>
> Of course as prices drop, private ownership of vehicles would increase
> and taxi or fractional ownership would decrease.
>
> A 1/32nd share in a Moller Skycar at $500,000 is $15,625 - that's $150
> per month over a 10 year period.   With 4,000 flight hours divided by
> 32 is 125 hours per year - at $150 per hour that's $1,563 per month -
> $1,713 per month - which is less than the cost of some sports cars.
>
> They could trade hours, at $0.75 -or sell to qualified outsiders for
> the same price, with a $5 processing fee per trip - If they flew half
> their miles and sold the other half at $0.75 - their costs would be
> slashed to $541 per month - which would motivate signing up for the
> deal - since that would allow them to fly 15,000 miles at about the
> same cost as a new automobile.
>
> 2.56 million network owners would support 80,000 aircraft at 1/32
> ownership interest in a program like this.
>
> So, as we range from the very wealthiest of folks to the less well off
> folks who have a million or less, but a decent income and credit
> rating, a program can be imagined for them.  Even at today's fuel
> prices.
>
> http://www.helinews.com/turbinecomparison.shtml
>
> Here's a plane that has VTOL capabilities and a 600 mile range and
> travels at 600 mph.   Of course the cost is 100x that of Moller's
> vehicle.   Yet it gives us a window of improvement we might expect for
> advanced systems in the future.
>
> With aerial refueling, or some sort of beamed power - to increase
> range - if done at a reasonable cost - today's airline/airport system
> would go the way of train stations - as small automated VTOL aircraft
> carried people point to point.