Want a Ride in Synergy?

Dean Sigler Diesel Powerplants, GFC, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

Howard Handelman, a regular reader and observant critic of the CAFE Blog, and Patrick Panzera of Contact magazine fame, are soliciting support for an effort to help John McGinnis finish his Synergy aircraft, unfortunately unable to make its Green Flight Challenge date, but nearing the finish line, none the less. Kickstarter.com recently rejected John’s attempt to raise funds for the nearly complete aircraft, a radically new and somewhat controversial approach to obtaining high performance on relatively low power.  John has shared his insights into the aerodynamics of the project and invited a lively discussion (now closed) on the Experimental Aircraft Association’s forums pages. Synergy under construction – an imposing sight The Internet has made possible fund-raising “crowd sourcing” in which interested people all over the world can contribute to enterprises they feel worthy of support.  As Handelman explains, “Keep in mind that Gates, Jobs and Rutan started in the equivalent of their garages.  Then remember the pre-internet crowd funding of …