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Montana’s Synergy Aircraft Wins an Award From and Is the Cover of Popular Science

A homebuilt airplane designed with maximum efficiency in mind.

John McGinnis thinks ordinary families would rather skip the airport and fly themselves. So he is trying to reinvent the personal airplane with the help of his father, son, and a rotating crew of about two dozen volunteers. Unlike small aircraft today–which can cost more than a house–McGinnis says Synergy could be cheaper, quieter, and, at more than 40 mpg, three times as fuel-efficient.

McGinnis, a 47-year-old composite manufacturer, flew his first airplane in second grade. Perplexed by the inefficiencies of personal aircraft, he taught himself aeronautical engineering and fluid dynamics over two decades. One day, while perusing scientific studies at a desk in his daughters’ bedroom, he read a NASA researcher’s paper challenging a classic aerodynamic drag equation. McGinnis could see the possibilities. "I came out of the girls’ bedroom ranting like a madman to my wife," he says. " ’Honey, you’re never going to believe this. I think I just solved a problem I’ve been working on since I was a little kid.’"

Synergy Aircraft http://www.synergyaircraft.com/

Cover of Popular Science Magazine http://www.popsci.com/announcements/article/2013-04/may-2013-new-dawn-invention

By Elbert Chu

Full Story: http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2013-04/aviation-family-flier

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Reinventing the Plane – Kickstarter fundraising efforts helping Synergy aircraft take off in Kalispell, Montana http://www.matr.net/article-50425.html

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