SAN LEANDRO, Calif. - A self-flying electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) drone for the cargo logistics industry has obtained a first-of-its-kind approval, according to its manufacturer, Jack Daleo writes for Flying. Continue reading original article.
The Military & Aerospace Electronics take:
8 May 2024 -MightyFly, a San Leandro, California-based company developing autonomous cargo aircraft for expedited logistics, announced that it has become the first large autonomous cargo eVTOL company to receive an Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) flight corridor approval in the U.S. MightyFly started flight testing the Cento aircraft at the beginning of the flight corridor in March.
This first FAA approval was confirmed via Freedom of Information Act inquiry in late March based on certification on January 25th, 2024, and includes the Certificate of Waiver or Authorization (COA) for a flight corridor of up to 5,000 ft in altitude between the New Jerusalem and Byron Airports in California and a Special Airworthiness Certification (SAC) enabling the company to test Beyond Visual Line of Site (BVLOS) capabilities while using a chase airplane.
“We are thrilled to publicly announce that we are the first large autonomous cargo eVTOL company to receive a flight corridor approval from the FAA and that we have already achieved some exciting and tangible flight test progress of the 2024 Cento. This is a solid vote of confidence from the FAA in our work and our ability to perform safe autonomous flights in the general aviation airspace. We now look forward to demonstrating point-to-point delivery flights with our partners in this space”, said MightyFly’s CEO, Manal Habib.
Related: MightyFly debuts third-gen autonomous delivery eVTOL
Related: Pipistrel taps Honeywell to provide navigation and sensor tech for unmanned cargo aircraft
Jamie Whitney, Senior Editor
Military + Aerospace Electronics
