On a recent afternoon, about 100 miles north of San Francisco, a small object could be seen flying above a crystal clear lake.
But it wasn’t a bird or a plane. It was a bit more unusual than that:
It was a flying car!
As The New York Times reported, “It looked like something Luke Skywalker would have built…”
I’ve been dreaming about flying cars ever since I was a kid watching The Jetsons. And evidently I’m not alone:
You see, more than a dozen companies right now are aiming to create modern-day flying machines…
And today I’ll tell you about one of them where you can get in on the ground floor.
A New Sector Takes Flight
The idea of a flying car has been around for more than 80 years.
In fact, according to CNN Money, “Since the 1930s, more than 30 patents have been filed for flying car designs...”
The thing is, flying cars aren’t so easy to pull off:
Just think about the legal risks, the possibility of mechanical failure, the inconvenient problem of gravity.
Clearly the sector will need a good “cheerleader” to convince us that the idea isn’t completely insane. Kitty Hawk, the company building the flying car I mentioned earlier, might fill that role nicely:
Its CEO is an influential technologist who’s a founder of Google’s “X lab.” That’s Google’s experimental technology division that’s working on everything from artificial intelligence to self-driving cars. Furthermore, Kitty Hawk is backed by Larry Page, one of the founders of Google.
Here’s what its device looks like:
Although this particular device has a ways to go before you or I can park it in our garage, the early traction it’s gotten is indicative of a major trend taking shape:
A trend toward re-imagining modern-day flying machines.
You see, dozens of companies have entered this “high-flying” new sector—from aerospace firms like Airbus, to transportation start-up Uber.
And one of these companies is raising money right now from investors like you…
XTI Aircraft
Meet the XTI TriFan 600:
Currently at the concept stage, the TriFan 600 is a long-range jet capable of vertical takeoff and landing (also known as VTOL).
VTOL is pretty incredible. It means this aircraft won’t need to roll down a runway to become airborne—it can lift off vertically from anywhere, just like a helicopter.
To achieve takeoff and landing, it plans to use three massive fans powered by a supersonic 1,000 horsepower engine.
But once the craft is airborne, it would transform itself into a jet. Two fans mounted on the wings would rotate upwards to provide forward thrust. That would enable six occupants to cruise at 400 mph.
And to build this holy grail of flying machines, XTI has assembled quite a team…
The Dream Team
XTI’s founder, David Brody, has impressive credentials:
In addition to holding several aviation patents, he previously founded a helicopter company that’s in the running to build the U.S. Army’s next advanced technology aircraft.
But to build the TriFan 600, Brody is surrounding himself with some heavyweights:
As a Board Member, he brought on Charlie Johnson. Johnson is the former President of Cessna Aircraft. He began his career in the U.S. Air Force in 1968 and logged over 1,000 hours of flight time in the F-105, serving in combat in Southeast Asia.
As CEO, Brody brought on Robert LaBelle, former CEO of AgustaWestland North America, a major helicopter company. LaBelle joined AgustaWestland after a career in the U.S. Navy where he was program manager for several aircraft including the E-2 Hawkeye, the C-2 Greyhound, and the S-3B Viking.
In brief, Brody has put together the “dream team” for this venture.
A $264 Billion Market
Personal aircraft transportation is a $264 billion market.
Currently, the market is comprised of 60,000 privately-owned jets and helicopters, as well as chartering services like NetJets.
XTI has no illusion that it will replace this entire fleet of 60,000 aircraft. But given its advantages (it would be the only commercial aircraft in the market capable of VTOL, and earlier this month, the U.S. Patent and Trade Office revealed that it will be issuing XTI a patent), it believes it could sell 40 to 100 TriFans per year.
Its target markets include business travel, luxury personal use, medical use, and tourism. With a $10 million retail price tag, the TriFan will be out of reach for most commuters like us—but with just 100 orders, it would help XTI achieve $1 billion in revenues.
What could such results mean for early investors?
Well, if history is any indication, an acquisition could certainly be a possibility:
NetJets, for example, was acquired by Berkshire Hathaway for $725 million…
Aircraft manufacturer Beechcraft was acquired for $1.4 billion…
And Sikorksy was recently acquired for $9 billion.
The Opportunity
To fund this dream, XTI is raising up to $50 million from investors like you.
The minimum investment is $350.
To be clear, this is an exciting project—but as an investment, it’s very risky.
That being said, if it works as envisioned, the rewards could be substantial.
With a big dream—and a big dream team—perhaps XTI will beat the odds and create one of the world’s modern-day flying machines.
To learn more, check out XTI’s funding campaign here »
Please note: Crowdability has no relationship with XTI, or with any of the companies or platforms we write about. Crowdability is an independent provider of education, information and research on start-ups and alternative investments.
Best Regards,
Founder
Crowdability.com
