The Elroy Air company presents Chaparral, a hybrid and autonomous aircraft that would serve for cargo delivery. In addition, the prototype can also take off and land vertically.
Clint Cope, one of the company’s founders, explained that the Chaparral is “a hybrid of a work-ready helicopter and a battle-hardened craft plane.”
The vTOL Chaparral can go from flying with eight vertical fans to flying with four rotating propellers.
Likewise, a hybrid-electric propulsion system gives it a range of up to 482 kilometers and a load capacity of between 136 and 226 kilograms.
To raise the load, a capsule is used that is located in the lower part of the prototype and that can be picked up and extended autonomously.
“Chaparral will be a vital logistics link for people around the world with unreliable roads and in remote, rural areas that take longer to reach today,” Cope added in a statement.
This vehicle was first presented in 2019. However, the company claims that since then it has considerably improved its design.
According to Elroy, agreements have been signed to supply nearly 500 aircraft to commercial, defense and humanitarian customers.
Recently, this type of aircraft has been in high demand. Part of its advantages are due to the fact that it does not require the intervention of a pilot in the cockpit. In addition, vertical takeoff and landing simplify loading and unloading.
Publisher Recommendations
es.digitaltrends.com