Tries to channel Steve Jobs and it doesn't work out. This is something like common Silicon Valley misstep #2.
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/rec.aviation.homebui...
Still a functional design though, with certain advantages.
The juiced up v2, the P-63 King Cobra had a proper supercharger system. It was more capable at high altitude - though the USAAF felt that the P-51 was better.
After the war, the remaining few P-63s (and P-39s that could be retrofitted with better engines) dominated air racing. Flying very fast at low altitude and turning on a dime (that mid-engine) generally out flew the P-51s. But since most of them were sent to the Soviets and elsewhere, and our own leftovers were simply scrapped or used for gunnery drones, there are very few left. I have never seen one in person.
His engineer just flat out refused to produce any plans for this design. He tried to make something like his plane happen anyway, going without sleep for weeks, and had a meltdown on camera. The show eventually had to be about him giving up on his cherished design and building a throwback to biplanes, with a family of artisans who are experienced in building them.
I had the feeling that Cringely was trying to channel Steve Jobs and it didn't work out. (Note: Jobs drives other people to do impossible missions without sleep, not himself, and doesn't display his work until it's ready, giving the appearance of effortless superiority).
Anyway as for this wind farm idea, the evidence of his friend's alternative propeller design is interesting. But let's also note that that this friend chose not to pursue wind farms, maybe for a reason.
[1] http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/1998/pulpit_19980724_0005...
[2] EDIT: I am not an aviation person, and my memory of this is poor, but from Googling I see apparently he wanted to make it out of unusual materials, have foldable wings, and put the engine behind the pilot. I have a memory of his design requiring the pilot to straddle the drive train to a front-mounted propeller. I don't know how problematic that is, but I remember it as being presented as a major problem.
EDIT 2: To be honest I feel a bit bad now about this being a top-voted comment, as Cringely learned a lesson on camera that many startup people learn behind closed doors – confidence is great, but trying to innovate in too many directions at once will kill you. Maybe that means that he is more cautious now, so perhaps he's really sure this thing will work. On the other hand, it was the first thing I thought of, that maybe he doesn't have a great track record with aviation iconoclasm.