Diesel Aircraft Unveiled At CAFE Electric Aircraft Symposium

Every engineer or any man with technical thinking has a dream of designing something good. Sometimes it may be a simple mechanism, sometimes it may be a complex machine or its component. Some people design some small components which have a great significance like Edison and sometimes we even have some big machines but they are uneconomical or less efficient. But this time we have an aircraft with us designed by john McGinnis. He has John McGinnis has designed an aircraft which he plans to fly on diesel.

John McGinnis, Member, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and has a lifelong wish of designing an aircraft. He has devoted most of his interest in studying aerodynamics. The aircraft which he has designed is christened as ‘Synergy’.  Recently he seems to have succeeded in building an aerodynamically advanced aircraft. The small prototype which he has designed runs on a diesel engine capable of generating a power of about 150kW. McGinnis actually has used a DeltaHawk engine, which is a turbocharged engine. He unveiled his design in CAFÉ Electric Aircraft Symposium held in California, recently. He has also participated in an event in the CAFE/NASA Green Flight Challenge. Which he thinks will be a tough competition.

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The aircraft he designed weighs about 1.4 Tons and has a wing span of about 32 feet with a total wing area of 144.6 Feet2.  This aircraft is comparable to one which has 46 feet wing span. This means it is as efficient as that. McGinnis said, “It has glider-like efficiency of a 46-foot wingspan packed into a much stronger 32-foot package.”

He seems to be humble and recognized help by his family and friends. He said, “Synergy is a true grassroots effort, being funded by friends, family, and the generosity of strangers,” he further added, “We’re committed to this as a critical technology demonstration for general aviation, prize incentive or not.”

He aims to win a prize of $1.65 million in CAFE/NASA Green Flight Challenge. This will be held from 11 to 17 July 2011. The aircraft designed by him looks superb.  It is also believed that it will out smart any design in terms of aerodynamics too. For making this air craft aerodynamically superior, McGinnis has studied research work of last 80 years and perfected his design. One of the striking features of this design is its “Double box tail”. This leads to a drastic reduction in   induced drag which is produced by lift.

John, McGinnis has an excellent experience of 13 years in 3-D solid modeling for engineering and product development applications. Seeing his enthusiasm and optimism it seems that he will be making a breakthrough in this aerospace field.

Specifications of Synergy:

Overall Length: 21 feet
Wing Span: 32 feet
Wing Area: 144.6 square feet
Gross weight: > 3,100 pounds
Empty weight: < 1,650 pounds
Gross in-flight wing loading: 23.2 lbs/sq. ft.
Power: 200-hp two-stroke turbo/super diesel Delta Hawk
Cabin Width, interior: 56 inches
Gear: Tricycle, retractable
Minimum flight speed: <55 KIAS (dirty)
Range: >1,500 nautical miles w/std reserve

Source: #-Link-Snipped-# Specifications: #-Link-Snipped-#

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