It is falling to startups like Elroy Air to drive the long-range logistics delivery service revolution. The company - featuring industry veterans from various high-profile companies like Google, Honeywell, and Uber with applicable backgrounds in engineering, aerospace, logisitics and the like - is accomplishing this through development of a Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) drone utilizing its "Chaparral" system. The drone completed its first-flight at Camp Roberts, California on August 14thm 2019 and managed a height of 10 feet during a 64-second long evaluation exercise.
The project seeks to have a market-ready drone in service as soon as 2020 with target services currently including medical supply delivery and humanitarian aid. These capabilities are not lost on military observers who also see the potential of such a system in reaching frontline fighting forces cut-off from support or operating in inhospitable terrain where manned rotorcraft can prove too costly/dangerous to arrange.
The design, in its current form, weighs in at a hefty 1,215lb and is driven by six twin-bladed lifting units, spread across outboard boom assemblies, and a single four-bladed drive unit fitted to the rear of the fuselage in a "pusher" arrangement. The mainplanes are set over the rear of the fuselage and are capped by upturned tips (winglets). The fuselage has been given a slab-sided look with rounded nose assembly and is used to house all pertinent operating systems including engine and avionics. A "reverse tricycle" undercarriage is used for ground-running in which the main wheels assume the bulk of weight distribution at the front of the vehicle and a single tail wheel is used under the rear. Slung under the fuselage will be a streamlined cargo pod.
Currently, the air vehicle is planned to carry external loads between 250lb and 500lb over a range of 300 miles.
Compared to rival designs, the Elroy Air offering is dimensionally larger with great capabilities and potential in the realm of cargo delivery over range.
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TRANSPORT
General transport functionality to move supplies/cargo or personnel (including wounded and VIP) over range.
X-PLANE
Aircraft developed for the role of prototyping, technology demonstration, or research / data collection.
1,213 lb (550 kilograms) Empty Weight
1,764 lb (800 kilograms) Maximum Take-Off Weight
+551 lb (+250 kg) Weight Difference
6 x Twin bladed lift rotors with 1 x Four-bladed drive propeller at rear of fuselage in pusher arrangement; Hybrid-electric powertrain featured. Propulsion
311 miles (500 km | 270 nm) Range
None. Between 250 lb and 500 lb of cargo (planned).
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