A crowd funding campaign has launched to develop the TriFan 600, a six-seat fixed-wing airplane designed to fly as fast, as high, and as far as other business jets, but with the ability to takeoff and land vertically.
XTI Aircraft Company is launching the equity crowdfunding campaign under new rules approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. It is part of a larger capital financing plan that includes venture capital, private equity and high net worth investors.
“We view equity crowdfunding as a creative way to involve everyone as true stakeholders working together to pioneer this all new way to fly,” said David Brody, founder and chairman of Denver-based XTI. “It’s a way to turn all of our supporters into potential stockholders by providing the public a once-in-a-lifetime chance to get in early on something truly revolutionary.”
In development for over two years, the TriFan 600 is being designed and developed to become the first commercially certified high-speed, long-range vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) airplane.
“No traditional jet, helicopter or other aircraft opens the same world of possibilities,” said Brody.
After he conceived and designed the TriFan 600, Brody assembled a leadership team to execute the vision, including XTI Vice Chairman Jeffrey Pino, the former president and chief executive of Sikorsky Aircraft; board member Charlie Johnson, former president of Cessna Aircraft Company, and Chief Engineer and board member Dennis Olcott, Ph.D., who previously served as chief engineer for Adam Aircraft and for the PiperJet program.
“This team knows exactly what is required to finance, design, certify and launch a program of this magnitude,” Pino said. “Our current efforts are focused on raising capital, finalizing diligence on our technical solution, and initial discussions with key vendors that will lead to building a prototype.”
“The NEW and IMPROVED Flying Car – please! Ok ,Ok, it fly’s – but WHO’s gong to but it? Perhaps these investors need a write-off? What better than some fool hardy aviation idea!
Beyond few pitfails, the desings looks gods for its purpose: attract fundings.
Personally I think Moller is far beyond this and still a long time away to deliver a certificable product, I bet on the Agusta 609 and later on a civilian derivative of the Bell 280 valor, for what I’ve see this project has few conceptual flaws as the forward ducted fans in line the wing, not to name the maintenaince nightmare which should be the gearboxes.
“This team knows exactly what is required to attract investors… and then make-off to RIO with the cash.”
Wow. Only 50 years after the XC-142 and MD188, and 45+ years after an MIT “Course 16” designed Vertical Takeoff and Landing BizJet that won an AIAA Student Award at a Princeton University competition, developed under the guidance of Prof. Norm Ham, for a six occupant vehicle, which already was projected to likely have had about equal capability to the TriFan 600, had that MIT design ever been able to be implemented, funded, and produced !!! And with the Osprey still exceedingly expensive and arguably unreliable, the AW609 still a fleeting commercial vision, the F-35B in arguably constant technical, financial, and mission trouble,… what progress we’ve made in the realm of VTOL, beyond simple helicopters, in the past four decades! But good luck to the TriFan team !!!
Your choice of descriptive wording is “arguably” a poor choice. And pray tell what is there that’s “simple” about helicopters? Radical new aerodynamic designs have always gone through lengthy periods of adjustment. The Tri-Fan 600 will not be one of them if it ever succeeds in being built and flown. Why? Because it will only have done so as a result of the years of prior experience with designing, building, testing and committing to the production of VTOL aircraft systems which could only have been done with the considerable engineering and financial resources needed to accomplish it.