Synergy Aircraft Synergy

The Synergy Aircraft Synergy is a proposed five-seat, single-engine, kit aircraft, designed by John McGinnis of Kalispell, Montana and intended for production by his company, Synergy Aircraft.^[1][2]

Synergy
Artist's concept
Role	Air Mobility
National origin	United States
Manufacturer	DBT Aero
Designer	John McGinnis
Status	Under development
Number built	None

The aircraft's closed wing design, termed a "double box tail", is intended to lower induced drag and be stall resistant, along with boundary layer control methods.^[2] Many of the details are disclosed in US patent 8657226.

Design and development

Development was started in 2010 to develop the Synergy as a future kit airplane. The Synergy is the first aircraft that was designed to use the 200 hp (149 kW) DeltaHawk V-4 engine. An electric-powered 1/4 scale version of the aircraft has been built and flown via radio control.^[2]

The Synergy design was unveiled at the 2011 CAFE Foundation electric aircraft symposium.^[3] The aircraft was intended to compete in the 2011 NASA/CAFE Green Flight Challenge,^[4] but its funding and engine were delayed, forcing the team to withdraw from the competition.^[5]

After receiving the DeltaHawk engine in December 2011 work resumed and a funding drive was launched to complete the prototype. Intended as a Kickstarter crowdfunding project, the initial project application and appeal were rejected on the basis of not fitting in with Kickstarter's creative arts focus.^[6] On 13 May 2012, however, Kickstarter informed McGinnis that they had reconsidered and that the project was approved.^[7] The project raised US$ 95,627 gross funds.

By mid-December 2012 McGinnis indicated that the Kickstarter campaign had raised US$80,000 and that he was intending to have a flying proof-of-concept aircraft at AirVenture 2013. He also stated that if the aircraft is not complete then he will not have a display there. The Kickstarter campaign also attracted a lot of interest, but answering email and phones calls has slowed work on the prototype down.^[8]

In May 2023 DBT Aero co-founder McGinnis was let go and replaced by Thomas Hatfield as CTO.^[9]

In July 2023 the first full scale prototype received its FAA Special Airworthiness Certificate in the experimental category which allowed to conduct flight tests.^[10]

Specifications

Data from Experimental Aircraft Association and Synergy^[2][11]

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Capacity: 4 passengers
• Length: 21 ft (6.4 m)
• Wingspan: 32 ft (9.8 m)
• Wing area: 156 sq ft (14.5 m²)
• Empty weight: 1,650 lb (748 kg)
• Gross weight: 3,100 lb (1,406 kg)

Performancemin level flight speed

• Wing loading: 23.2 lb/sq ft (113 kg/m²)