Synergy Aircraft

Thursday, May 31, 2012 at 09:33 PM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

John McGinnis and his family are developing the Synergy aircraft, featuring a unique double box tail and a rear-mounted diesel propfan, designed to significantly reduce drag and boost efficiency.
The team is currently working on a full-sized prototype, with development supported by a successful grassroots online fundraising campaign on Kickstart.com, which has raised $79,000.
Their immediate goal is to get the prototype operational ("on the wheels and powered up"), with the ultimate aspiration to have Synergy flying and presented at Oshkosh next year.

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One family’s unique aircraft design is taking off with the help of a grassroots online fundraising effort.

Synergy Aircraft — To that end, John McGinnis and his family have been working on the Synergy design for years.

Synergy Aircraft — The design was unveiled to the public during the CAFÉ Electric Aircraft Symposium in Santa Rosa, California, last year.

Synergy Aircraft — Synergy features a double box tail shape and a diesel-powered propfan that resides behind the fuselage.

Synergy Aircraft — McGinnis and his team say the double box tail shape is key to the design’s ability to significantly reduce drag and boost efficiency.

Synergy Aircraft — McGinnis and his team are currently working on a full-sized prototype of the aircraft to join the existing 25 percent scale model.

Synergy Aircraft — In order to make that prototype a reality, the team turned to a unique grassroots fundraising effort at Kickstart.com.

Synergy Aircraft — The project has raised $79,000 and counting since the project first launched on the site a few weeks ago.

Synergy Aircraft — While that amount may seem like a drop in the bucket in terms of what’s needed to develop a new aircraft, McGinnis and his team say they aren’t too concerned about that just yet and are thrilled to have the funds to continue the project in the short-term.

Synergy Aircraft — The next milestone the team is looking to achieve is to get a prototype “on the wheels and powered up.”

Synergy Aircraft — The ultimate goal is to get Synergy flying and able to make it to Oshkosh next year.

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