One of Australasia's leading helicopter companies, Heliflite, has become the regional agent for the in-development Trifan 600, it was announced this week.
The Trifan 600, an innovative electric VTOL aircraft, is under development by US company XTI Aircraft, which tested a proof-of-concept vehicle earlier this month.
“Heliflite is looking to the future, anticipating the next big thing in air travel, which has led us to proudly establish this
relationship with XTI’s highly experienced design and management team," Heliflite Director Scott Edmonds said.
"Heliflite looks very much forward to being instrumental in the Trifan 600’s success in our region."
The agreement with Heliflite includes engineering and maintenance services for the TriFan 600, as well as an important role in XTI’s pre-sales and sales program. The exclusive arrangement covers Australia, New Zealand and the rest of Oceania, as well as Indonesia and The Philippines.
“This is a major development for XTI,” said XTI Chief Executive Officer Robert LaBelle. “We’re pleased to be working
with Heliflite on an exclusive basis in this part of the world. They’ve been providing sales, service and spare parts support to the helicopter industry and other aircraft owners since 1977 and have earned an excellent reputation.”
XTI Aircraft currently has 78 early reservations for the Trifan 600. Projections for six-seat aircraft show a cruise speed of 300 KTAS and a range of just over 1200 nm. Using three ducted fans, the Trifan with take off vertically with the two wing fans then rotating forward to the cruise position.
XTI believes the Trifan will be able to reach 29,000 feet 10 minutes after take-off.