Back in 2020, California-based startup Pyka launched an automatic electric pesticide sprayer called the Pelican. Now the company has developed a freighter version touted as the world’s largest autonomous electric cargo plane.
“Pelican Cargo will make a huge positive impact on people’s lives,” said Michael Norcia, CEO and co-founder of the company. “The plane is designed to eliminate CO2 emissions from the logistics chain, yet offers significant speed advantages over ground transportation and operating costs at a fraction of conventional air transportation. .”
Pelican Cargo’s unmanned aerial system is developed for last-mile express logistics operations, and Pyka notes that it will be particularly useful for delivering cargo to remote rural areas.
It features a 50 kWh lithium-ion battery pack that provides up to 200 miles (320 km) of range and 20 minutes of reserve on a single charge. Four 25 kW (33.5 hp) electric motors power two fixed-pitch propellers in front and behind each wing, and the aircraft benefits from a fully redundant propulsion, controls and sensor suite .
Paica Co., Ltd.
The Cargo Flyer is 24 feet (7.3 m) long and 7 feet (2.1 m) high. A 400 lb (181 kg) payload is front-loaded into he 66 cubic feet (1.87 cubic meters) of cargo space via a pop-up nose and sliding tray. The aircraft has a total wingspan of 38 ft (11.5 m) and requires a 600 x 50 ft (183 x 15 m) pavement/gravel/dirt/grass runway to take off. After that, we will make a cruise flight. Speeds of 80-90 knots (92-103 mph/148-167 km/h).
Autonomous flight capabilities are built around six processors spread across two computer systems, a proprietary flight engine that rocks forward-looking LiDAR, GPS, radar and laser technology. The company believes logistics companies can operate the aircraft with minimal training.
There are more videos below.
Announcing Pyka Pelican Cargo – Large Autonomous Electric Cargo UAS
Source: Paika Co., Ltd.
