NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. — Raised in the Tampa Bay area, Dylan Woodham has lived with wild weather and the threat of hurricanes his entire life.
“It can get pretty nasty,” Woodham says.
So when the 24-year-old student at Pasco-Hernando State College had to dream up a concept for a draft and design class, he imagined something that would help his family and his friends: a hurricane plane.
The plane combines the technology of a helicopter and a boat with state-of-the-art wings that function in extreme wind.
This plane could also land on water and areas littered with debris helping to flying people out of danger no matter the conditions.
“It could also ferry supplies to people where most small planes normally can’t get to,” says Woodham, who has done intense research on aeronautics, spending months at school and home on the design.
He even came up with a nickname for the plane.
“I call it the Diligence," says Woodham.
The hurricane plane may sound like science fiction. But Dylan’s professor says the design is “exquisite.”
Jack Plant has seen his best students go on to MIT and then join some of the finest engineering and architectural firms in the nation. He believes Dylan has that same rare talent and hope he'll go to an aeronautics college where he can refine his designs.
And after that, maybe the hurricane plane will finally take flight.
