The world's largest electric cargo plane has been unveiled, as reported by Electrek. The plane is made by Pyka, a leader in electric Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) technology.
Making History Again
The company has introduced its Pelican Cargo, which is the largest autonomous electric cargo plane in the world today. It is designed to remove carbon emissions from the logistics chain while providing a significant speed advantage over ground transportation and operating costs at a fraction of conventional air transportation.
The aircraft will have a range of up op 200 miles and a payload of up to 400 lbs in 66 feet of cargo space. It will also have a sliding cargo tray that allow for faster loading.
It is equipped with four electric motors, 100 kW combined power, and a 50 kWh lithium-ion swappable battery. The batteries may be swapped or recharged in approximately an hour. Furthermore, it has GPS and Laser/Radar based navigation that allows for night flying.
Orders are already coming, as the company stated that they have secure pre-commitment of over 80 orders and options for their electric cargo plane from three customers.
Currently, Pyka is testing the aircraft at their facility in Northern California. The goal is to have the first commercial operation in second half of the year.
It All Started With Crop Spraying
At first, the goal of the project was for crop spraying. Things took a turn due to the funding the company received from Y Combinator, a tech startup accelerator. This resulted in the making of the "Egret."
By 2019, Pyka had Egret certified for commercial operation with the New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority, which made it the first human-scale electric aircraft for commercial operations.
It was able to raise another $8 million in funding that led to flying their second-generation electric crop-sprayer, which was named the Pelican. The Pelican was then deployed to Costa Rica to spray bananas for major customers. With this, Pyka became the first company to have an autonomous fixed-wing aerial to spray over a banana crop field.
It can be seen and felt that the company is continuously making progress in the aviation industry by using advanced technologies to further reduce carbon emissions. Pyka's latest creation only shows that there are a lot of ways for planes to travel without reducing the environment. With this, it won't come as a surprise when see more UAVs up in the air.
By going electric air transportation can achieve net zero carbon spoon enough. Pyka's electric cargo plane could also change the shipping industry for the better.
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