It has been nearly three decades since Doc Brown's DeLorean jetted off into the sunset at the end of "Back to the Future," but 2011 looks to be the year when airborne autos finally become a reality. Here's how some folks are angling for a science fiction windfall.

Fly a car, help a missionary.

The Maverick, a car with a Subaru engine and a collapsible, powered parachute, is now air and street legal. Manufacturer Beyond Roads charges $84,000 for each model; some of that will subsidize Mavericks for missionaries living far afield.

Class in session.

The feds recently approved a less stringent "sport pilot" certification that covers flying cars, and aviation schools are hoping for an enrollment bump. Schools charge would-be pilots anywhere from $3,500 to $6,000 to prep them for driving the friendly skies.

Tax dollars at work.

The Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is developing the Transformer, a pilot project (no pun intended) for an armored combat vehicle that flies. The Pentagon expects a prototype by 2015, and $8.75 million has been committed so far.

Fly a car, help an MIT grad.

Five MIT-educated pilots are poised to deliver the Transition late this year. Their company, Terrafugia, will sell the plane for $200,000 to $250,000, and it says 80 orders are on the books.