By Elizabeth Cloutman

Photo by Monique Schoenfeld, Town Crier

As an adolescent in the early 1960s, Michael Moshier became fascinated with the concept and the crude prototypes of the rocket belt, frequently predicted to be the personal transportation mode of the future. The passenger could simply strap it on and then fly to his or her destination.

“It was a gee-whiz machine,” he said. “People would see it … and we would envision ourselves (in one) … ‘We’ve got to have one! That’s the future!’”

Moshier was a Navy pilot during the war in Vietnam, and became an aeronautical engineer and entrepreneur. Yet his fascination for the idea of a personal vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft never faded. When it became clear that no one else would bring such an aircraft to fruition, he decided to develop it himself. In 1996, the Los Altos Hills resident founded Millennium Jet.

Now, after five years of long work days and endless brainstorming by Moshier and his small team of engineers, the proof-of-concept prototype of the SoloTrek XFV sits in the small company headquarters in Sunnyvale, undergoing final testing before it takes its first hover flight late this summer. The general public will get its first look at the SoloTrek Saturday at the annual Vertical Challenge at the Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos.

“The simple answer to as to why (I built the SoloTrek) is ‘I want one,’” Moshier said, laughing. “I know, beyond that, the world-at-large has so many applications for a device like this, that the need is certainly there.”

The first applications would be military: surveillance and reconnaissance, search and rescue and urban operations. He said he has sold the first machine to the U.S. Army Special Forces.

Next would be the paramilitary marketplace: police, firemen, search and rescue, and border patrol. “Once those are more or less in place and working, then commercialization and privatization would certainly make sense,” he added.

Designed to operate easily in and out of confined areas, the SoloTrek XFV prototype stands seven-and-a-half feet tall and weighs 400 pounds unloaded. Its four-cylinder aircraft engine runs on regular unleaded gasoline. The engine powers twin rotating, ducted fans, which produce the thrust necessary to lift the craft off the ground. The pilot will use hand controls to maneuver the SoloTrek, which is expected to hover for up to two hours, reach speeds up to 70 knots (80.5 miles) per hour and travel distances up to 130 nautical miles (149.5 miles). Future models will be powered by a small turbo-shaft jet engine.

Moshier said Millennium Jet brought in its first private investors just over a year ago. Then, about eight months ago, “we were able to secure a $5 million grant from the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency. They’re fascinated by what we’re doing.”

The small company is just beginning its campaign for third-round financing by industry sponsors and accredited investors. It’s also just beginning discussions with potential joint-venture partners for manufacturing and future development.

In the meantime, employees of neighboring businesses are eager to watch whenever Millennium Jet engineers fire up the SoloTrek’s engine. “They’ll climb up on the rooftop,” Moshier said, laughing.

For more information on the SoloTrek XFV, logon to www.solotrek.com.