Synergy Aircraft

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.