According to Salt Lake City’s KUTV, which got a copy of the report, the pilot was a colonel, and he had just 35 minutes of sim time in the Apache before he took off on an orientation flight with a master warrant officer who was qualified in the type.

The investigation found that on the colonel’s fourth attempt to hover and land the Apache at the army facility at South Valley Regional Airport (U42) in West Jordan, Utah, he lost control.

“In a moment of panic and due to his great unfamiliarity with the … helicopter flight controls,” an investigator wrote, “the [colonel] reverted to his fixed-wing…training and applied downward movement…This motion…was not the proper input in a [rotor-wing] aircraft.”

The investigation also found fault with the master warrant officer, saying “overconfidence…led to inadequate aircraft flight control management and inadequate altitude selection with an unqualified person on the helicopter’s flight controls.”

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AVweb.

The post Report: Air Force Reserves Fighter Pilot Crashed Apache Helicopter appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

XTI on Monday announced it signed a capital distribution agreement with investor FC Imperial Limited worth as much as $55 million, giving the firm a post-money valuation of around $275 million should the transaction go through.

“Assuming the completion of the proposed investment, we believe the additional capital will help accelerate the development of the TriFan through several major milestones, including completion of the updated preliminary design review along with launching the critical design review phase in preparation for the assembly of XTI’s Test Aircraft No. 1,” said Scott Pomeroy, chairman and CEO of XTI.

XTI, which is publicly traded on the Nasdaq, was borne out of a merger between manufacturer XTI Aircraft Company and Inpixon, a developer of real-time location systems. That transaction went through in March.

The company’s proprietary aircraft design has received patents in the U.S., Canada, Japan, China, and Europe. In 2019, a two-thirds scale prototype aircraft made its maiden voyage.

The TriFan design was inspired by the hummingbird using its wings to suspend itself in air while collecting nectar: fast, quiet, and able to hover. In the same way, the aircraft uses tilting fans to easily transition from hover to forward flight, much like the tiltrotors on the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey or Leonardo AW609.

Unlike the cylindrical shape of most commercial airliners, the design takes the form of a bird in flight to provide lift, similar to the Boeing B-52 or Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird.

The TriFan seats a pilot and as many as six passengers. It can operate from a helipad, airport, or any “improved surface,” with no need for new infrastructure or airspace regulations.

Two massive ducted fans on either side of the aircraft’s fixed wing aid in hover and cruise flight, while a third rear fan—which stows during flight—provides power and stability during vertical takeoff. The fans are controlled using simple fly-by-wire controls and powered by a pair of turboshaft engines. The company says it will later switch to hybrid-electric and eventually full electric power to enable zero-emissions operations.

According to XTI, the aircraft’s 700 sm (600 nm) range from helipad to helipad—equivalent to the distance between Dallas and Denver or San Francisco and Portland, Oregon—is double that of most helicopters and seven times that of battery-only VTOL designs. It can also use its fans to perform a short takeoff and landing (STOL) from an airport runway for increased range (750 nm) and payload.

XTI says the TriFan’s 345 mph (300 knots) cruise speed is also twice that of a typical helicopter and will save passengers time compared to business jets and airliners. It will fly at around 25,000 feet and have a configurable fuselage for executive, commuter, and medical use cases.

At the same time, the aircraft is expected to be affordable. In 2021, XTI estimated that an eight-passenger TriFan configuration flying from Manhattan to John F. Kennedy International Airport (KJFK) would cost 80 cents per seat-mile, compared to $3.19 for the average eVTOL and $3 for the typical Uber ride.

The TriFan will be certified as a single-pilot design with IFR permissions, including flights in inclement weather. XTI is collaborating with AVX Aircraft Company on the aircraft’s design, development, and certification.

As of March, the company has a total of more than 700 conditional aircraft purchase agreements, non-binding deposit agreements, options, and letters of intent for the model.

Last month, regional airline Mesa Airlines, which works with United Airlines, placed a conditional preorder for up to 100 aircraft, the value of which XTI estimates at $1 billion. The firm also became an investor. The pending transaction represents one of the most significant so far for the young company.

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The post XTI Lands Up to $55M to Develop VTOL Business Aircraft appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Five days into its launch of the bloody invasion of Ukraine and Russia troops had yet to take control, according to U.S. defense officials.

“The Russians have not achieved air superiority over the whole country,” a senior defense official told reporters Monday. “Ukrainian air defenses remain intact and viable both in terms of aircraft—and missile defense systems—and they’re engaged.”

• READ MORE: European Union, Canada Close Airspace To Russia

U.S. defense officials, however, say it’s too soon to make sweeping conclusions.

“Make no mistake, Mr. Putin still has at his disposal significant combat power,” Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said Monday afternoon. “He hasn’t moved all of it into Ukraine, but he’s moved the majority of it. He still has a lot that he hasn’t moved into Ukraine. It’s combined arms. And it’s not insignificant.”

Despite initial setbacks, “the Russians will learn from this,” he added.

• READ MORE: How Russian Oligarchs Conduct Business in the Air

Combat Air Power

How does Russia’s air force compare to others?

When it comes to combat air power, the gold standard is the U.S. Air Force, which, according to the World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft (WDMMA), has the highest rating based on modernization, logistical support, and attack and defense capabilities.

“The USAF features a broad mix of aircraft types as well as balance strengthened by overall numbers [quantity],” WDMMA said. “Many of its products are locally sourced thanks to the U.S.’s massive industrial base. It also maintains dedicated strategic-level bombers, CAS aircraft, a sizeable helo and fighter force [of which many are multirole types], and hundreds of transport aircraft to reach anywhere in the world. 

• READ MORE: Ukrainian Officials Reveal Fate Of World’s Largest Cargo Aircraft, ‘Mriya’

“Beyond this is a large training, tanker, and special-mission force. The service is also set to be reinforced in the near-future with hundreds of units still on-order.”

In its most recent ranking of 124 air services in 98 countries, WDMMA ranked the U.S. Air Force as the top air service owing to its “TrueValueRating” (TVR), or a value formulated by assessing an air service’s strengths and weaknesses.

U. S. Air Force  – 5,209 active aircraft inventory:

• Attack aircraft: 1,976 units

• Support aircraft: 1,692 units
• Training aircraft: 1,541 units
• Future: 2,419 units
• TVR: 242.9

Russia Air Force – 3,829 active aircraft inventory

• Attack aircraft: 1,507 units

• Support aircraft: 1,837 units
• Training aircraft: 485 units
• Future: 820 units
• TVR: 69.4

Even with its size, Russia’s air force inventory is less than that of just the U.S. Army Aviation division, which has a reported current active inventory of 4,328 aircraft, according to WDMMA. 

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