The American company XTI Aircraft plans to obtain a type certificate and start production of the TriFan 600 three-fan aircraft by the end of 2024. As reported by New Atlas, a full-scale prototype of the TriFan 600 will be built in 2022.
Development of the three-fan business jet began in 2015, and testing started in 2019. This is a vertical take-off and landing aircraft with three fans in the ring fairings. Of these, two are placed between the projections on the leading edge of the wing, and the third - in the tail section. It is assumed that the wing fans will be rotary, and the tail fan will be stationary. After takeoff, the wing fans will smoothly rotate 90 degrees, accelerating the aircraft.
The aircraft will be able to carry up to eight passengers at a distance of up to 1.2 thousand kilometers and reach speeds of up to 555 kilometers per hour. XTI Aircraft believes that it will be in demand because it will be able to fly at the speed of an airplane, but at the same time use helicopter pads or suitable terrain for landing. Unlike most vertical take-off and landing vehicles, the TriFan 600 will have a hybrid system instead of an electric-powered powertrain. High-power batteries will help the aircraft to take off and land vertically, but the turboprop engine will work in flight .
XTI Aircraft plans to obtain a type certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration for the TriFan 600 and start full-scale production by the end of 2024. The company has already received 202 orders for the construction of the aircraft, although there is still no full-scale prototype. It is going to be built and start testing in 2022. New Atlas notes that the TriFan 600 could become the fastest electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft with the longest flight range.
The development of the TriFan 600 has not yet ended, and on its basis, a hybrid cargo drone, the TriFan 200, is already being created. Earlier, we wrote that it will be able to transport up to 227 kilograms over a distance of up to 200 kilometers. Vasilisa Chernyavtseva
