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Airbus Corporate Jet Features Best Cabin Ever

September 15, 2016 By Prime Industries

It’s official: Airbus has produced a corporate jet with the best cabin of any business jet in use today.

An ACJ319, operated by the Austrian company MJet and used for charters, was on show at the recent business aviation Jet Expo in Moscow. Boasting the tallest, widest cabin of any business jet, it is aimed at customers wanting even more range and capacity than the widebody ACJ320 family of jets currently offers.

The jet on show was magnificent, and featured several open-plan luxury lounge areas at the front of the plane, as well as a bedroom with shower and en suite bathroom at the rear.

According to Airbus, the spacious and luxurious ACJ319 is already in “widespread service” with governments, companies and wealthy individuals throughout the world. Airbus Chief Operating Officer, Customers, John Leahy points out the importance of cabins in the business jet world, saying that the space, comfort and overall freedom of those flying in this Airbus corporate jet has to be experienced to be “truly appreciated.”

Apart from ultimate space and luxury, Airbus corporate jets are the most efficient and reliable in the business jet world. With what is an impressive heritage, these incredible flying machines deliver features that include:

weight-saving carbonfiber,
cost-saving maintenance that is centralized,
advanced cockpits with leading-edge avionics, and
fly-by-wire controls that enhance integrity with flight envelope protection and handling qualities.

While these features are now regarded as standard in new aircraft built to operate in the business jet world, a “culture of innovation” sees Airbus constantly adding major improvements to its new aircraft. These improvements include new-generation engines as well as distinctive fuel-saving wingtip-mounted Sharklets that give Airbus corporate jets and commercial airliners a significant advantage.

The ACJ319neo (which offers the new engine option – neo) has a flying time of 15 hours and sufficient power to fly eight passangers 6,750 nm/12,500 km. The larger ACJ320neo has the ability to carry 25 passengers 6,000 nm/11,400 km. Because of their improved fuel efficiency and increased range, these planes are sometimes labelled as being “green.” Additionally the ACJneo turbofan engines have higher pressure ratios and improved aerodynamic flows which also contribute to reduced fuel consumption.

As well as the extra space offered in ACJ319neo and ACJ320neo jets, lower cabin altitude also enhances passenger comfort. So even when the aircraft are crusing at the highest altitude possible, the atmosphere is similar to that experienced on the ground.

And as if this isn’t impressive enough, Airbus also offers VIP versions of its widebody jets including the A350 which is billed as the world’s newest airliner. This amazing jet features carbonfiber wings and fuselage that are lightweight and cut down the maintenance required.

Overall, Airbus Corporate Jets aims to give its customers and operators tip top services that are tailored specifically their individual needs.

According to the company, there are more than 180 Airbus corporate jets in service, and they fly on every single continent, including Antarctica.

Airbus Parts and Service from Prime Industries

Prime Industries will supply, repair and service parts for all Airbus aircraft, including helicopters. Let us know what you need.

Innovative Airbus News Boasts Study to Reduce Noise in Flight

August 31, 2016 By Prime Industries

When you’re flying in an aircraft, some noises are relatively easy to ignore, while others are deeply annoying. For this reason, Airbus is doing all it can to make all its new aircraft cabins as quiet as possible.

In Airbus news released online earlier this month (August 2016), the company stated that it was using a highly innovative “representative fuselage segment” that is able to proximate an A320-sized plane. The A320 “family” of aircraft are single-aisle jetliners that are used all over the world for both intercontinental flights and short hauls.

Originally launched in 1984, the A320 has been improved continuously ever since. The aircraft already boasts advanced technology including:

Weight-saving composites
An ultra-efficient optimized wing design
Centralized fault display the improves troubleshooting and decreases Airbus maintenance costs
Fly-by-wire flight controls that improve safety and reduce the workload for pilots

The pioneering noise reduction study aims to make Airbus cabins of the A320 family and other Airbus aircraft, “the quietest and most comfortable in the sky.”

Acoustic Laboratory for Noise Testing

The resource Airbus is using for the new study is an acoustic laboratory based in Hamburg, Germany that uses a new test platform supplied by the Center for Applied Aviation Research (ZAL). Considered a mammoth breakthrough in noise testing, they are able to achieve what previously could only be evaluated during test flights, or by studying isolate components.

The ZAL acoustic chamber has the capacity to accommodate fuselage “demonstrators” that are up to 15 meters long and eight meters high, including Airbus widebody products, specifically the A350 XWB and A330. These large Airbus aircraft have twin-aisles, and offer superior efficiency and comfort. They also use 25 percent less fuel than other aircraft, which is great Airbus news for operators. Given the company’s mission to make their aircraft quieter, demand will only continue to grow.

Airbus News Reveals How Their Craft Will Become Quieter Than Ever

The 8.5 m-long ZAL Airbus fuselage demonstrator currently in use in Hamburg has been designed specifically to replicate engine noise. The way it works is that the demonstrator is subjected to sound waves around the circumference of the fuselage through a series of 128 speakers, each of which can be individually controlled.

Because the lab is able to accurately reproduce the conditions that apply when the aircraft is in flight, researchers are able to examine ways of reducing noise in the aircraft cabin without having to do expensive test flights. The acoustic chamber they have set up also allows them to do detailed comparisons using “real-world physics” together with simulation models.

According to one of the project co-leaders, Henning Scheel, the research teams are focusing on pinpointing:

Where noise enters aircraft cabins
How noise is spread once it has entered the cabin
And also how noise is transmitted

Once they have this information, they will be able to determine how background noise in the cabin can be reduced. Ideas they are exploring include:

Making minor structural adaptations
Changing the form of insulation used
Using new materials that absorb noise more successfully in certain frequency ranges; these include embedded vibration dampers

According to Scheel’s co-leader Martin Wandel, the demonstrator will also significantly shorten development cycles for new solutions to minimize noise. He said that once the initial fuselage mock-up has been investigated thoroughly, the research team would work on interior cabin components. Later on there would be tests undertaken in the acoustic lab using “passengers.”

Prime Industries and Airbus

Prime Industries is an FAA AC 00-56A compliant and ISO 9001:2008 certified company that specializes in the supply, repair and overhaul of aircraft components and parts for helicopters and fixed-wing planes. These include Airbus and other leading aircraft manufacturers. So if you require Airbus parts or assistance with Airbus maintenance, we can help.

New customers are welcome to contact us for availability and pricing of parts, or to view our current inventory.

Military Airbus Helicopters With HForce on Track for Release in 2017

July 30, 2016 By Prime Industries

Development of a military Airbus Helicopter H225M equipped with the HForce weapon system is on track for release at the end of next year (2017), the Airbus Group has announced.

The HForce Weapon System

The first stage of firing tests was completed early June using HForce, which is described as a “generic weapon system.” The system, which has been tested for more than five months, is an innovative one that includes a number of important Airbus Helicopter parts for use with Airbus Helicopters H225M:

A central core unit
Thales’ Scorpion monocular helmet mounted sight display (HMSD)
A Wescam-manufactured electro-optical system (EOS)
Gunner ammunition or armament weapon pods and weapon grips

According to an Airbus Group statement, the firing “campaign” or tests took place between May 25 and June 3 this year, on a safe range in some part of Belgium. This gave Airbus Helicopters the opportunity to demonstrate how the HForce-equipped H225M helicopters were able to perform using ballistic weapons.

During the firing campaign, 70 mm size rockets, 20 mm size cannons, and 12.7 mm guns were used. HForce program manager, Jean-Luc André described the campaign as an important milestone that was achieved in the time allowed. He said the results surpassed expectations and were above the required specifications. Ultimately, the results provided significant added value for tracking targets and for the procurement of day and night missions.

The HForce project was launched just over two years ago as an affordable plug and play system to manage weapons that can be added to incrementally. It was designed to cater for the defense agencies requirements worldwide that need to add light attack mission capabilities to existing fleets of specialized helicopters designed for attack.

HForce can be fitted to any of the Airbus Helicopters commercial range of aircraft – the H125M, H145M, and of course the H225M.

The company, which is a division of the Airbus Group, is well known for its highly efficient civil and military helicopters worldwide. There are currently an estimated 12,000 helicopters in service, operated in 154 countries by more than 3,000 Airbus customers.

Airbus H225M Helicopters

Originally developed as the Eurocopter EC725 Caracal, and introduced in 2005, Airbus Helicopters H225M is ideal for troop transport, combat search and rescue, and casualty evacuation. Used in many crisis areas including Afghanistan and Lebanon, it is operated from both land and ships, and flies in all weather conditions. It has a 700 nautical mile range that can be extended by air-to-air refueling. A high-performance machine that can take off in less than five minutes, the H225M travels at high speed and gets to its destination quickly. It was designed with survivability a key factor, and has a reinforced structural mail frames, as well as landing gear capable of absorbing energy, and both self-sealing and “crashworthy” fuel tanks.

Airbus Helicopter Parts and Airbus Helicopter Maintenance

Of course Airbus Helicopters makes Airbus Helicopter parts and undertakes Airbus Helicopter maintenance. However there are times when customers, particularly those with older aircraft, need parts and service that they cannot get directly from Airbus.

US-based Prime Industries specializes in the supply of Airbus Helicopter parts as well as parts for other aircraft, including other Airbus craft, Boeing, and Lockheed. The company also specializes in the repair and overhaul of Airbus Helicopter parts and components, and has an extensive inventory of new, repaired, and overhauled parts.

So if you need Airbus Helicopter parts or assistance with Airbus Helicopter maintenance, contact us for pricing and availability.

Airbus Helicopter Parts in High Speed Clean Sky 2 will Reduce Environmental Footprint

July 15, 2016 By Prime Industries

The pre-design phase of Airbus Helicopters’ uniquely innovative new helicopter design is complete, paving the way for a highly efficient, sustainable, high-speed rotary-wing aircraft. The pre-design phase is the project’s first official milestone. This phase involved tests of a high-speed demonstrator that has been whizzing through wind tunnels as part of its contribution to the European Clean Sky-2 Low Impact, Fast & Efficient RotorCraft (LifeRCraft) research program.

The initial success of the LifeRCraft and its component Airbus Helicopter parts means that preliminary reviews of a prototype design will likely take place before the end of this year (2016). Flight-testing of the helicopter prototype is scheduled for 2019.

About the Clean Sky Initiative

Clean Sky, launched in 2008, is a hugely ambitious aeronautical research program that involves a joint technology initiative (JTI) between the European Commission and the aviation industry, including Airbus, the Airbus Group, and Airbus Helicopters. The JTI has its sights set on developing “breakthrough technologies” that will significantly increase the environmental performance of air transport in general, ultimately aiming at fuel-efficient aircraft with reduced emissions, and aircraft that are less noisy, in this way reducing their acoustic footprint.

The role of Airbus Helicopters in this undertaking is profound, and the company sees it as the opportunity to become “the benchmark of the rotorcraft industry.”

While the initiative is based in Europe, Airbus Helicopters, Inc. is the US affiliate of Airbus Helicopters, a subsidiary of Airbus Group, and the largest rotorcraft manufacturer in the world. This means that more Airbus Helicopter parts are made in the US than anywhere else in the world. The country is also an important hub for Airbus Helicopter maintenance.

About the Clean Sky 2 Demonstrator

According to the chief technical officer of Airbus Helicopters, Jean-Brice Dumont, the Clean Sky 2 Demonstrator is not just part of an exercise in making aircraft go faster, it is also about making speed smarter. To do this, the company is looking for the best trade-off between mission, cost-efficiency and sustainability.

Dumont says the company wants to break the cost barrier that is usually associated with increased range and speed, paving the way for “new mission sets” planned for 2030 and beyond. Ultimately, this will make it possible to provide critical rapid response emergency services more efficiently, offering crucial improvements for search and rescue, medical evacuation, disaster relief and so on.

The Clean Sky 2 program manager, Ron van Manen, has highlighted the important benefits of the LifeRCraft Demonstrator Project to the public, stating that it can bring a “fundamentally new” combination of speed, range and payload to the aviation market. He has also said it will strengthen Europe’s “formidable competitive position in the vertical life aviation sector.”

Since Airbus Helicopters and its component Airbus Helicopter parts are found in at least 154 countries worldwide, it’s not just Europe that will benefit. The very fact that the Clean Sky 2 project is addressing existing technological gaps in everything from systems and structures to overall design demonstrates its universal value.

Prime Industries

US-based Prime Industries specializes in the supply, repair and overhaul of Airbus Helicopter parts and can help with the needs of those doing Airbus Helicopter maintenance. Whether you’re looking for airframe components, retables, landing gear, ground support equipment, accessories, or any other equipment or compounds for Airbus Helicopter models currently in flight, contact Prime Industries for professional assistance.

Plans for Robots to Paint Airbus Helicopter Parts

June 30, 2016 By Prime Industries

Airbus Helicopters has announced plans to use robots to paint Airbus Helicopter parts and do other repetitive tasks. The company plans to use a “new generation of humanoid robots” to do this, with the robots imitating “what they see,” rather than being autonomous.

Initially they will start using robots to paint primary Airbus Helicopter parts like the rotor hub, as well as some quite complex markings and decorations on their aircraft.

The company introduced its first robotic applications in 2015, and has said that it will continue to release additional robotic applications “every year or so.” However there is no plan to replace humans with robots. Rather, it is planned that robots will automate “high-volume repetitive activities” allowing people to focus on other important tasks.

According to Georges-Eric Moufle who heads Airbus Helicopters’ Aeronautical Factory of the Future project, robots will allow them to optimize the “finishing painting workflow” with “low energy consumption.” He further describes this workflow as a process that starts with preparation of the aircraft’s green surface and ends with curing of the final topcoat of paint.

Ultimately, the use of robots for painting Airbus Helicopter parts will help the company “optimize weight and cycle savings,” says Moufle.

The Role of Robots in Airbus Group’s Factory of the Future

According to Airbus robotics expert, Adolfo Suarez Roos, the company aims to develop robots that will be able to interact safely with humans and will be able to adapt to unexpected situations. It was working through the ICARO project to do this, he said.

ICARO (Increase of CAR Occupancy) is a European transport research project that was originally launched in 1997 to develop car-pooling policies in an endeavor to increase car occupancy rates in EU countries.

In a joint interview with Suarez Roos in 2014, Chrisoph Borst, head of autonomy and teleoperation at the German Aerospace Center’s Institute of Robotics and Mechantronics said that for 15 years they had been developing motion capabilities of robots. The next stage was to include human workers, and develop language that would enable them to work with robots. Since the process of human thinking is “really complicated,” he said they would start with relatively simple interactions and cited human collaborations with dogs as an example.

Since Airbus produces on average 1.5 aircraft every day, Suarez Roos said they needed to program robots to do tasks that last several hours.

In addition to painting Airbus Helicopter parts, the company is planning to get robots to do waterproofing tests on doors, windows and fuselages. Robots would be programed to track each bit of these various Airbus Helicopter parts, listening for noises that might indicate leaks of any sort in the airframe. They are also reportedly looking at using robots to increase automation when manufacturing the skin of helicopter blades.

Prime Industries Role in Provision of Airbus Helicopter Parts

While US-based Prime Industries doesn’t have any plans to employ robots in the foreseeable future, the company does offer new, repaired and overhauled Airbus Helicopter parts, as well as parts for Airbus planes, Lockheed and Boeing. Prime Industries also offers Airbus Helicopter maintenance services.

FAA Adopts New Airworthiness Directive for Airbus Helicopter Parts

June 28, 2016 By Prime Industries

A new United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airworthiness directive (AD) for Airbus Helicopter parts has been designed to prevent the failure of parts that could lead to loss of control of helicopters in the air.

In a nutshell, the AD is intended to reduce the “life limits” of specific Airbus Helicopter parts and will require that these are removed from the aircraft once it has reached its life limit.

The airworthiness directive refers to six Airbus Helicopter models:

EC135P1
EC135P2
EC135P2+
EC135T1
EC135T2
EC135T2+

All six of these helicopters are approved by Germany’s aviation authority, and are approved for operation in the US. However the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) issued an AD in August 2013 that was aimed to “correct an unsafe condition” for these and another three models, EC635T1, EC635P2+ and EC635T2+.

The new US AD does not apply to the EC635 models because these aren’t type certificated in the USA.

Published in the Federal Register on June 6, 2016, the US directive will become effective from July 11.

Background to the New FAA AD

The FAA first published its intention to amend the regulations in November 2014. The stated intention was to improve the safety of Airbus Helicopters in flight.

Only three people commented on the intention of the FAA to issue the AD. All believed the directive was unnecessary because all operators must in any case use the most current revision of the master servicing manual for Airbus Helicopter maintenance. The FAA disagreed based on information provided by EASA, believing that it was both in the public interest and interest of air safety that steps be taken to ensure that “unsafe conditions” be prevented by mandatory Airbus Helicopter maintenance – more specifically by replacing certain Airbus Helicopter parts when they reach their “life limit.”

According to the FAA there are 267 Airbus Helicopters on the US registry that are affected.

The New AD Regarding Airbus Helicopter Parts

The new AD defines an unsafe condition as “failure of a critical part” that could “result in loss of control of the helicopter.”

Actions required before any further flights are made are listed in the AD. They include updating revised life limits on component history cards or records for specific swashplate parts, including various rings and bolts, and for mixing lever gear unit parts. The original life limit as well as the new reduced life limit is given for each part, together with its part number.

Any of these Airbus Helicopter parts that have reached or exceeded the newly revised life limit have to be removed.

If a helicopter operator is not able to do this immediately, and needs to get the aircraft to a maintenance facility to replace the part, they may apply for a special one-time flight permit.

Airbus Helicopter Parts from Prime Industries

Whether your Airbus Helicopter parts are included in the new FAA AD or not, Prime Industries can help. You can check or current inventory online or contact us directly for assistance.

Airbus Helicopter Parts Made With 3D German Printer

June 1, 2016 By Prime Industries

Airbus Group is using 3D German printers to produce series components and prototype parts in an endeavor to deliver Airbus Helicopter parts that are lighter and cheaper than those currently available. The company is also promoting the use of 3D printing to improve efficiency of assembly lines.

“3D printing is the dream of any engineer,” says Rainer Rauh, global innovation manager of the Airbus Group, adding that from simply having a good idea, you can use the 3D printer to print overnight and have a new part ready the following day.

The first “flight-qualified” 3D-printed part from Airbus Defence and Space is a bracket made from a titanium alloy that is on board the French-made Atlantic Bird 7 telecoms satellite. There is also a 3D-printed air intake on board Airbus Military’s tactical Unmanned Aerial System (UAS), Atlante.

Recently the company made a number of prototype Airbus Helicopter parts using a large-format German RapRap X400 3D printer. These parts included shafts, gears, levers and windshield wipers, as well as bearings, sleeves and threads, all of which are functional prototypes that can be used to test the interaction of different components. As an example, Airbus Helicopter windshield wipers are put through a myriad of serviceability and functionality tests, as well as safety tests. They are also tested to see how easy they are to install and to assess future manufacturing processes.

Additionally, Airbus Helicopters, together with Autodesk (specialists in making software for engineering, construction, manufacturing and other industries), recently unveiled what is believed to be the largest metal airplane component ever made with a 3D printer. An airplane partition, it was created from Scalmalloy, the Airbus Group’s second-generation high-strength aluminum-magnesium-scandium alloy, using the same X400 3D printer.

The company is currently working on a camera mount extension prototype that will be able to assist military and police forces follow movement on the ground more effectively. The X400 is being used for this too.

3D printing, also known as additive layer manufacturing or ALM builds parts from the inside out, in layers. Materials used include concrete, glass and high-grade titanium alloys. Each layer is very thin (about 0.1 mm), but eventually the process results in an object that is solid and that can be very complex in shape. Computer-generated designs are used for 3D printing, and laser beams or electrons are used to model materials according to the designs. Because this form of production enables engineers to create topologically optimized natural shapes that could never be produced from solid blocks of material, Airbus Helicopter parts produced this way will ultimately be considerably less costly than the conventional parts that are currently produced. The process is also less wasteful, with only an estimated 5 percent of waste material produced from the 3D printing process.

Jörg Sander, a specialist in 3D printing for electronic equipment at Airbus Defence and Space, likens the shift to ALM to the change from handwritten books to those that are printed.

The shift to ALM is part of the Airbus strategy to optimize the company’s industrial system by 2020.

Of course cheaper Airbus Helicopter parts will ultimately impact on part service and repair for Airbus Helicopters. In the meantime US-based Prime Industries continues to source and supply quality aircraft components and parts for clients all over the world.

Airbus Helicopter Crash Highlights Importance of Part Service and Repair Work

May 15, 2016 By Prime Industries

The fatal crash of an airbus Group SE H225 Super Puma helicopter in Norway late April has highlighted the vital importance of part service and repair work on all aircraft.

While it is still not known what caused what has been described as a “rare” accident, amateur video footage captured at the time shows the rotor head with blades still attached breaking away from the helicopter while it is flying in the air. All 13 people on board were killed when the aircraft plunged into the sea.

Helicopter flight data (FDR) retrieved from the flight recorder and data from the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) is all said to be of “good quality” and is currently being analyzed in Norway. While no official report has yet been issued by the Accident Investigation Board Norway (AIBN), the owners of the aircraft, CHC Helicopter have told media that there had not been any emergency calls from the two pilots prior to the crash. They also confirmed that the fated helicopter had been forced to return to base twice in the week before the accident because of a warning light.

The rotor was reported retrieved from a rocky outcrop more than 200 m from where the helicopter crashed just west of the city of Bergen, its destination. After the wreckage had been moved to facilities of the AIBN in Lillestrøm, AIBN reported that they will still searching for Airbus Helicopter parts that were “connected to the main gearbox.” Meanwhile, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) issued an emergency airworthiness directive (AD) that stated it appeared that the main rotor hub had separated from the main gearbox, in flight.

Weather conditions on the day of the crash were normal and the AIBN has said it believes the incident was caused by “a technical failure.” As a precautionary measure, the EASA AD called for “before next flight” inspections on all EC 225 helicopters, and for “any discrepancy” to be reported to both EASA and Airbus Helicopters.

Airbus Helicopters’ Safety Management System

Airbus Helicopters has a strict safety management system (SMS) that promotes “a reactive, proactive and predicative organizational approach to safety risks.” This includes:

Safety by training of pilots and flight crews.
Safety by design that includes constant technological improvements aimed at safety. Aircraft design features include:
- The Fenestron shrouded tail router
- Starflex and Spheriflex main rotor hubs
- Crashworthy seats
Safety by maintenance which specifies three pillars of maintenance:
- Maintenance procedures
- Maintenance documentation
- Maintenance training
Safety by co-operation with suppliers and operators.
Safety documents that are supplied to the industry.
Safety news that is released regularly.
Safety events that the company supports worldwide.

Safety Maintenance, Part Service and Repair Work Vital

Shortly after the accident in Norway, a spokesman for the Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority said that maintenance of the helicopter had been delayed twice during 2015. Mr. Hege Aalstad, a senior legal advisor at the Authority said there had been applications for travel-time extensions. Each was for a delay of 100 flying hours. These were granted.

Airbus Helicopters emphasizes the importance of a proper maintenance regime, stating that it “plays a crucial role in supporting helicopter safety.” This includes providing invaluable information to help maintenance teams “make the right decisions” when it comes to keeping aircraft airworthy.

The company also offers an online technical publication service that provides documentation supporting safe operations as well as maintenance of its helicopters. These include various maintenance manuals that list processes to be followed when identifying, maintaining and repairing helicopter parts.

Prime Industries helps owners and operators ensure that proper maintenance procedures are followed by supplying new and overhauled quality Airbus Helicopter parts as well as part service and repair. So don’t delay crucial maintenance work; contact the Prime team and we’ll provide the parts you need, when you need them.

Airbus Helicopters SMS

Learn More about the XTI TriFan 600 and How It Could Revolutionize Air Travel

January 15, 2016 By Prime Industries

The world’s first commercial vertical takeoff airplane is nearing reality, with a promise it will pioneer a new era of flight, changing the way the world flies.

Described as having the range, speed and comfort of a business jet combined with the ability to take off and land like a helicopter, the ground-breaking XTI TriFan 600 project has already received non-binding “indications of interest” that total $18,612,813.

Photo from XTI Aircraft Company

After more than two years of development, equity crowdfunding last September raised more than $4 million in just two weeks. It was the first time crowdfunding had been used for commercial airplane development, and the developers said they were overwhelmed by the response.

XTI vice chairman, Jeff Pino explained the incredible interest in the revolutionary aircraft, saying people were “captivated and excited” by the possibilities it presented. He said people recognized it could be “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” and were therefore keen to get involved as stakeholders early.

XTI TriFan 600 crowdfunding is being driven by StartEngine, an entrepreneurial business that offers investment opportunities, rather than just asking for donations. However, even StartEngine CEO Ron Miller described the response as extraordinary. “The company is clearly on course to change the future of flight.”

In addition to crowdfunding, XTI is also raising money through venture capital, private equity and accredited investors. Opportunities for members of the general public to become shareholders are time-limited.

About the TriFan 600

The TriFan 600 is a six-seater aircraft (pilot plus five passengers) that will be able to transport passengers door-to-door rather than airport-to-airport. All it needs to land is a clear helipad-sized paved surface.

It is designed to fly as high and as fast as possible, above predominant weather conditions. Because it is very spacious, it could also be used for medical evacuations or as an air ambulance.

The structure itself will be made of carbon fiber and epoxy.

Its name comes from three ducted rotating fans, powered by two high-performance turboshaft engines that produce columns of air capable of pushing the airplane straight up into the sky, to its maximum altitude in just 11 minutes. Once the plane is in the air, the two wing fans swing forward 90 degrees and the fuselage fan closes up. Like all other fixed-wing aircraft, the wings provide lift.

The XTI TriFan 600 is designed to take just 90 seconds to reach a maximum speed of 400 miles an hour. It will have a maximum cruising altitude of 30,000 feet and a range of between 800 and 1,200 miles, which is similar to the range of many private jets.

The People Behind the XTI TriFan 600

Development of the exciting new, futuristic TriFan 600 is being lead by a highly accomplished team of visionary, aviation super-stars, with proven industry experience. They are:

David Brody, founder and chairman of XTI. Brody previously founded AVX Aircraft Company, a successful advanced technology helicopter company, and he holds several patents in aviation and other fields.
Jeff Pino, former president and chief executive of Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation that he grew from a $2 billion to a $7 billion company. A certified airplane and helicopter instructor pilot and aerobatic performer, he was also senior vice president at Bell Helicopter.
Charles B. Johanson, former president and COO of Cessna. An accomplished test pilot, he was chief of production flight test for Gates Learjet and chief pilot for Arnold Palmer.
Dennis Olcott, XTI’s senior vice president of engineering previously led the development teams at Adam Aircraft and Piper Jet.

Together they are continuing to find a better way to fly!

When is an Aircraft too Old? What Determines an Airplane’s Lifespan?

December 20, 2015 By Prime Industries

You may be aware that there are many old airplanes still flying in today’s skies. Are you aware of how the lifespan of an airplane is determined? The subject is an interesting one, and the answer is not as simple as you may have thought.

Pressurization Cycles Determine Aircraft Age

For an airplane, it’s not the absolute number of years that contributes to its age. Instead, the airline industry uses a concept known as “pressurization cycles” to keep tabs on the effective lifespan of aircraft. The term refers to the amount of time that the aircraft is kept under pressure from flight. The pressure of flight stresses the fuselage and wings. Over time this stress effects the airplane’s structure which makes flight increasingly more dangerous.

The lifespan of aircraft is determined by the manufacturer.
The age is calculated based on pressurization cycles. As a rule of thumb, each cycle involves “takeoff/landing.”
Fuselage and wings suffer stress from pressurization, including on “short hauls.”
Airlines follow manufacturer’s directions for “trouble free” maintenance.
Nondestructive evaluations (NDE) are used during the life of the airline to inspect for damage.

Airlines have to make a decision on how long their aircraft is used based on balancing the needs for profitability and public safety. There are no hard and fast “rules” concerning the exact age or number of cycles when a company would retire an airplane. If repairs came due that were prohibitive in cost, that would hasten the decision to retire the aircraft.

Economic Factors Decide on Airplane Life

Airplanes often are upgraded based on economic reasons and the changing tastes of consumers. There are planes that are capable of flying for decades, but it’s doubtful that commercial airline passengers would be willing to pay top dollar to fly them, especially with more modern options being available. Airplane manufacturing makes new models that offer more features and higher chances of profitability in the hopes of convincing airlines to upgrade their fleets. Airlines with the newest planes tend to have more customers flying at any given time because of the increased comfort.

Even though it’s not completely accurate, the most basic explanation of determining aircraft’s lifespan is this: the number of takeoffs and landings ultimately decide how long an airplane lasts. The more an aircraft is used, the more pressure the structure endures and the closer the craft gets to reaching its maximum service. The good news is that a plane that has had a lot of takeoffs and landings, it’s assumed, will have earned a hefty profit over the course of its lifetime.