XTI Aircraft TriFan 600 VLCA (concept design)
TriFan 600 VLCA (concept design)
XTI Aircraft Company
Englewood, Colorado, USA
www.xtiaircraft.com
www.xti-inpx-merger.com
Founded in 2012 by David Brody in the USA, Brody's goal is to successfully make and sell conventional and hybrid-electric vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) long-range planes for advanced air mobility (AAM) including both personal and commercial use aircraft. The goal of the company is to make air travel as efficient as possible, taking off and landing door to door, instead of airport to airport. To make air travel as fast as possible, as clean and sustainable as possible, and to increase the safety of air travel.
TriFan 600 passenger hybrid-electric VTOL VLCA concept design aircraft
The TriFan 600 is a hybrid-electric VTOL six or seven passenger Vertical Lift Crossover Airplane (VLCA) concept design aircraft. The TriFan 600 can takeoff and land conventionally using a runway or the aircraft can perform vertical takeoffs and landings. XTI Aircraft unveiled its TriFan 600 VTOL in August 2015 with a well-publicized equity crowdfunding (see “Industry Briefs,” Vertiflite, Nov/Dec 2015).
The fixed-wing airplane holds six or seven people including the pilot. The estimated cruise speed of the aircraft is 345 mph (555 km/h) and has a predicted maximum cruise altitude of 25,000 ft (7,620 m). The VTOL range is 700 miles (1,127 km) and the conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) range is 850 miles (1,368 km). The range for the TriFan 600 is approximately twice that of most conventional helicopters.
The aircraft has three ducted fans used for VTOL flight and uses two ducted fans for forward flight. For VTOL flight, the aircraft uses all three ducted fans. When in forward flight, the two front ducted fans provide propulsion and the fuselage-mounted fan, no longer needed, has shutters that close over the ducted fan.
The aircraft has hybrid-electric powertrain using two turbine engines to generate electricity for all the aircraft's systems. As alternative power technology matures and becomes commercially viable, regulations are clearly defined and charging infrastructure developed, the Company intends to incorporate hybrid-electric and eventually all-electric propulsion in the TriFan 600. The tail is a high cruciform tail. The aircraft has tricycle wheeled retractable landing gear.
Ground and hover tests in 2019
In 2019, the company assembled and began ground tests and hover tests with its 65% scale proof of concept (POC) demonstrator aircraft at the Placerville Airport, California, USA. The first hover tests took place on May 2, 2019, followed by multiple successful controlled hovers. Based on test data, modifications were made to the proof of concept vehicle and it was then disassembled and transported to the Northrop Grumman private airport site (07UT) near Howell, Utah, USA in December 2019.Testing resumed after reassembly in early 2020 but further testing was severely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and the decision was made to focus on XTI’s full-scale piloted prototype development instead.
August 4, 2022 article
On August 4, 2022, XTI Aircraft wrote an article titled, "Engineering Update – August 2022" highlighting several design changes include the forward fans being mounted to the fuselage, instead of the previous fan-in-wing mounted design. The rear fan is fixed and is used only for VTOL flight operations.
Intended markets
The company foresees selling to the existing turbine business aircraft and helicopter markets and the emerging advanced air mobility (AAM) market. The XTI Aircraft expects to conduct VTOL operations using existing infrastructure including over 5,000 helipads in the U.S. as well as landing in parking lots, driveways, job sites, grassy areas and remote locations as long as its safe to land and takeoff from the landing space.
XTI and Inpixon merger
On July 25, 2023, Inpixon announced it has entered into a definitive merger agreement with XTI Aircraft Company. The enterprise value of XTI was ascertained by an independent financial advisory firm to be within the range of $252 million and $343 million USD. If completed, the merger will result in a combined publicly traded company that will focus on advancing the TriFan 600 VTOL aircraft to market, as well as continuing to offer Inpixon's real-time location systems technology to manufacturing and warehousing facilities for streamlined operations, greater efficiency and improved safety. The two company's merger portal is here online.
Specifications:
- Aircraft type: Twin-turboshaft conventional power source passenger VTOL aircraft and in the future will be a hybrid-electric VTOL aircraft (when technology matures the aircraft's powertrain can be converted to use hydrogen fuel cells or 100% batteries)
- Piloting: 1 pilot with fly-by-wire controls
- Capacity: 6 or 7 people including the pilot
- Maximum cruise speed: 345 mph (555 km/h)
- Maximum cruise altitude: 25,000 ft (7,620 m)
- VTOL maximum range: 700 miles (1,127 km)
- Conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) range: 850 miles (1,368 km)
- Empty weight: 3,500 lb (1,588 kg)
- Vertical takeoff, useful load: 2,400 lb (1,089 kg)
- Short takeoff, useful load: 2,800 lb (1,270 kg)
- Maximum vertical takeoff weight: 5,300 lb (2,404 kg)
- Maximum short takeoff weight: 6,300 lb (2,858 kg)
- Propellers: 3 electric ducted fans
- Electric Motors: 3 electric motors to power the ducted fans (there are other electric motors to turn the ducted fans and for the retractable landing gear)
- Power source: 2 turbine engines (as technology matures, aircraft can be outfitted with hydrogen fuel cells and solid state batteries). The aircraft also has battery packs which are used as supplemental power during vertical flight and are recharged during flight.
- Fuel capacity: 125 gallons (473 liters)
- Wing span: 37.7 ft (11.5 m)
- Length: 38.7 ft (11.8 m)
- Ducted fan diameter: 5.9 ft (1.8 m)
- Fuselage: Carbon fiber composite
- Windows: Slightly larger windows than a conventional private luxury plane
- Wings: 1 high main wing with winglets
- Tail: 1 high cruciform tail
- Landing gear: Retractable tricycle wheeled landing gear
- Safety features. The aircraft can land conventionally on a runway or road, in the event of an emergency. The aircraft will be certified for IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) operations so it can fly in inclement weather, including known icing. The aircraft will also be equipped with advanced safety features such as sophisticated autopilot/computerized controls for takeoff and landing, collision avoidance technologies and state-of-the-art avionics.
- These specifications are estimates and can change overtime
Company Insights:
Resources:
- XTI Aircraft website
- XTI/INPX Merger website
- XTI Aircraft Facebook
- XTI Aircraft Twitter
- XTI Aircraft YouTube Channel
- XTI Aircraft Instagram
- XTI Aircraft LinkedIn
- XTI Aircraft StartEngine
- XTI TriFan 600 Wikipedia
- Video: XTI Aircraft Introduces TriFan 600, The Auto Channel, Aug. 26, 2015
- Article: Learn More about the XTI TriFan 600 and How It Could Revolutionize Air Travel, Prime Industries, Jan. 15, 2016
- Article: Air Mobility Bonanza Beckons Electric VTOL Developers, Vertiflite, March/April 2017
- Article: XTI Unveils Redesigned TriFan 600 VTOL, Aviation International News Online, Oct. 9, 2017
- Article: XTI Trifan 600 Draws The Curious At NBAA, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, Oct. 11, 2017
- Article: XTI Aircraft Company Accepts More Orders for TriFan 600 Vertical Takeoff Airplane, PR Newswire, Oct. 18, 2017
- Video: XTI Aircraft Company Video, XTI Aircraft, Nov. 12, 2017
- Press Release: XTI Aircraft Refines its TriFan 600 VTOL Bizjet, XTI Aircraft, Mar. 5, 2018
- Article: XTI Aircraft Refines its TriFan 600 VTOL BizJet, Vertiflite, March/April 2018
- Article: XTI Aircraft Prototype Begins to Come Together, Electric VTOL News, Apr. 1, 2018
- Article: XTI TriFan 600 Nearly Complete, Electric VTOL News, Apr. 22, 2019
- Article: XTI TriFan 665 flies!, Electric VTOL News, May 8, 2019
- Article: Electric Sky: GE’s New Catalyst Engine Can Help Hybrid Planes Take Flight By Generating Up To 1 Megawatt, XTI Aircraft, June 23, 2019
- Article: XTI Continues Progress, Electric VTOL News, Aug.24, 2019
- Article: Oshkosh e-AirVenture, Vertiflite, September/October 2019
- Article: XTI Progress in Asia, Electric VTOL News, Nov. 4, 2019
- Article: XTI Aircraft’s TriFan 600 Development Continues, Vertiflite, March/April 2020
- Article: Why Hybrid-Electric Aircraft Will Lead the Way in VTOL, The Startup, Nov. 27, 2020
- Article: The Vertical Takeoff Aircraft Revolution and How it Will Radically Change Our Lives – Just like the iPhone!, XTI Aircraft, Jan. 4, 2021
- Article: XTI Aircraft Continues Developments, Electric VTOL News, May 2, 2021
- Article: XTI Pushes Back TriFan 600 Service Entry with Xeriant Merger Still Pending, Future Flight, Aug. 4, 2022
- Article: Engineering Update – August 2022, XTI Aircraft, Aug. 4, 2022
- Article: Inpixon Enters into Definitive Merger Agreement with XTI Aircraft Company, Developer of a Vertical Lift Crossover Airplane (VLCA), PR Newswire, July 25, 2023
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