Kuljetus & Logistiikka 1 / 2019

This giant cargo drone can carry 500 pound
pods hundreds of miles
We’ve seen prototypes of delivery
drones before. The vast majority of
them are small and agile, and designed
for small deliveries.
San-Francisco-based aerospace
startup Elroy Air is trying to break
into the cargo industry instead, with
a giant drone called the Chaparral.
The heavy-duty drone can carry 500
pounds of cargo for 300 miles, Wired
reports, and the idea is to replace
truck routes that are hard to cover
on land.
“We want to be like the Ford F-150
of the sky,” Elroy CEO David Merrill
told Forbes.
“Ford F-150 of the Sky”
Six rotors allow the cargo drone to
take off and land vertically. A rotor
attached to the tail end lets it cruise
at a brisk pace. Since it doesn’t need
a runway, the drone doesn’t require
an airport. It doesn’t even need an
electric charging station, thanks to
its “hybrid-electric powertrain,” according
to the Elroy’s official website.
Rather than carry cargo inside a
cargo hold, the Chaparral system will
be able to pick up cargo “pods,” allowing
for efficient loading and unloading
while the drone is still in the air.
That’s apparently a compelling
vision to investors: the company
announced today it had raised $9.2
million in a seed round.
Search And Rescue
The uses for the cargo drone aren’t
limited to simple delivery routes.
The Chaparral system could be used
to improve disaster response or help
out during remote military missions.
But the startup still has a lot to
prove to investors. Elroy is hoping
to begin testing this year. But the
concept will likely take a number of
years of development before it can
take to the skies commercially.
The startup will also face some
steep competition with the likes of
Boeing developing their own — and
strikingly similar— cargo drone
technology.
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