The FAA’s Innovation Office has accepted a type certificate application from XTI Aerospace for its TriFan 6000 VTOL aircraft. The Colorado-based company announced the milestone on March 1 and reported that it is now preparing to roll out its “Sparrow” subscale working model early in the second quarter of this year.

The TriFan 600 has been under development for almost a decade now, with the company pitching the design as an alternative to current business jets and helicopters. Described as a “vertical lift crossover airplane,” it is expected to have a range of 600 nm and will cruise around 300 knots at an altitude of 25,000 feet.

XTI said its engineering team has been engaging with the FAA  to establish its certification plan based on the AC 21-17b “powered lift” requirements. It said the agency has now started the process for reviewing its G-1 “basis for certification” process.

The TriFan 600 will be powered by a pair of as-yet-unspecified turbofan engines running on jet-A fuel or sustainable aviation fuel. The design features two tilting ducted fans on the wing and a rear fan installed in the rear section of the fuselage.

According to the company, it has also now completed a downwash/outwash study that involved analyzing airflows generated by the aircraft during vertical takeoff and landing. Among its pending tasks are design work on the fuel system, enhancements to the air inlets and exhaust, producing a flight deck mockup, and completing an update to a structural model for the TriFan 600.

“The powered-lift category is new territory for the FAA and other regulatory bodies, and we’ve learned a great deal from pioneers like [eVTOL aircraft developers] Joby and Archer, who have helped shape this regulatory landscape and aided in crafting how the FAA certifies new families of VTOL aircraft,” commented XTI chairman and CEO Scott Pomeroy.

Earlier this week, XTI also announced that its board of directors had approved a plan for the management team to buy back up to $5 million of its common stock over the next 12 to 18 months. In a March 18 statement, the company said it believes its common stock is undervalued. When New York’s Nasdaq market closed that day, the share price stood at $2.55.