Pretty much disruptive.

From AIN:
“
Flight Tests Near for Proof-of-concept TriFan 600

XTI Aircraft expects to receive new electric motors for its 65-percent-scale, proof-of-concept (POC) TriFan 600 within seven days and is “targeting first flight soon after,” according to Robert LaBelle, CEO of the Denver-based company. The $6.5 million, six-seat hybrid-electric VTOL is expected to enter production in early 2023.

The company has logged more sales over the past year, with some 76 TriFan 600s now on order. “The new orders come at an excellent time because this solidifies our budget and improves our revenue projections as we head into the initial flight tests for our POC aircraft. The total number of orders represents $494 million in gross revenues upon delivery of the aircraft,” LaBelle said.

Enhanced changes made recently to the design include those to the propulsion system, moving the horizontal stabilizer to a T-tail configuration, and adding winglets and trailing-edge flaps, XTI v-p of global business development Saleem Zaheer told AIN. He confirmed the POC prototype is undergoing ground and systems tests and should commence flight tests in a few weeks.

The TriFan 600 will have the speed, range, and comfort of a business turboprop while having the ability to takeoff and land vertically, XTI said. Range at 300 knots is expected to be up to 1,200 miles.

4+ hours of flight time on batteries?

Uh huh

Chip-

That thing is made of paper machete

You can get a pretty bad paper cut from that.

In fairness, it does say hybrid-electric so presumably there is a turbine buried in there somewhere. Still, they better make sure the turbine doesn't set fire to the paper mache.

I think the article states it’s a 65% mock-up

No, idea is turbine generator and batteries only suitable for emergency landing out of hover (few minutes).

So 4+ hours of jet fuel.

Mike C.

The "POC" will be unmanned. It's a big drone.

That's not proving the concept to me, but it will be interesting to see how it performs none the less.


No sane person expects that.


The basic idea lacks sufficient redundancy for human transportation. The failure of any one motor, rotor, controller, or associated parts in the hover mode is an instant crash. In the forward flight mode, it would survive since it can land like a plane with on rotor out, assuming the drag of the broken side can be managed.

Electric motors are more reliable than turbines, but not reliable enough to bet your life on them.

BTW, no parachute solve the problem, either, since hover mode occurs near the ground.

Mike C.

So quadruple the price. Double the weight. And cut the distance in half. Isn’t that the usual motto?

The "POC" will be unmanned. It's a big drone.

That's not proving the concept to me, but it will be interesting to see how it performs none the less.


No sane person expects that.


The basic idea lacks sufficient redundancy for human transportation. The failure of any one motor, rotor, controller, or associated parts in the hover mode is an instant crash. In the forward flight mode, it would survive since it can land like a plane with on rotor out, assuming the drag of the broken side can be managed.

Electric motors are more reliable than turbines, but not reliable enough to bet your life on them.

BTW, no parachute solve the problem, either, since hover mode occurs near the ground.

Mike C.

I agree but....

My friend lives on 5 acres north of town and lands his helicopter on his old tennis court. His neighbors hate him. If everyone had one guaranteed it would end up being a problem.

Naw, more like the Moller M400 Skycar, which also suffered from lack of redundancy.


Yup, dreams like that are what sell these ideas.

I think someone will build one eventually that can work and be certified, but no sooner than 10 years from now, and it will cost a bunch.

Kind of like the Osprey as compared to a Huey.

Mike C.

My son was in the marines. Said the osprey was/is a serious flop with FOD issues.

JC. The could be a lot quieter than a chopper. Oh well. We will see.

It will be a much higher pitch due to higher RPM and more blades.

I predict this will be more annoying, more penetrating, more "buzzy".

All you need is one thing in your house that resonates at that frequency, like a window pane, and it will be very annoying.

Mike C.

Noise is only 50% of the problem. Prop wash is the other 50%.

Flying cars won't work until they can make them fly like in Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind/E.T. etc.