Flying car builders

It's not ready for takeoff yet, but a flying car is taking shape in a backyard shop in Murphy, Texas. The GT Flyer, currently a foam-and-fiberglass model, is the work of Vernon Porter (left) and Clarence Kissell, as detailed in a Sunday story in The Dallas Morning News.

The two men hope to have an early prototype ready to fly this fall and a final prototype ready within five years, according to the newspaper. Plans call for the vehicle to use a 232-horsepower Mazda rotary engine and a Volkswagen transaxle. The three-wheeler would actually be licensed as a motorcycle when on the ground, the newspaper said. The wings will fold back into the base of the body when not in use.