Big cargo drones
Let’s put aside the little guys dropping pharmaceuticals and books, for the moment, and look toward a brawnier future for the cargo drone. Van Doesburg, of the European Shippers Council, said there are prototypes being developed of drones capable of carrying 10 to 30 tonnes of cargo. The goal of these programs is to develop a drone that could fly from China to Europe in 12 hours with optimal fuel consumption, and which could serve airports that freighters or cargo-friendly widebody passenger aircraft don’t serve now.
Van Doesburg pointed out that an aircraft built to be capable of pressurization is up to 30 percent heavier than a similar-sized, unpressurized aircraft, simply because they require more metal to make them stronger. With the weight savings of an unpressurized UAV comes a big drop in fuel consumption, and since only about 10 percent of cargo needs to fly in pressurized aircraft, building unpressurized drones makes considerable sense. There are other advantages that come with lighter, unmanned freighters.
Van Doesberg said from the beginning, unmanned freighters will be built with a focus on multi-modality. He emphasized that a new, special air cargo container would have to be designed to conform not only with the aircraft but also with road, ocean and/or rail modes. But first, regulators have to begin updating current legislation. “It should fit in the European framework,” he added, “but each country will have some autonomy.”
One example of a big drone is the ATLAS, a blended wing/body design, made from a composite material. The ATLAS, intended specifically for carrying cargo, was designed as part of the aerospace engineering bachelor’s curriculum at Delft University of Technology. It is designed to fly at very high altitudes, where the lift-generating body helps to make it more efficient in terms of fuel consumption and aerodynamics.
There is much red tape to jump through before delivery of cargo by large drone is a reality. Van Doesburg said not to expect a pilotless plane flying with cargo in the next 10 years. He said he expects good things for small drones, but added that technology companies will have to push harder to make the larger, cargo-carrying UAVs a reality that can compete with today’s piloted planes.
That first tether-drop of medical cargo in Virginia was only the beginning. The possibilities for drones in cargo delivery are wide open and largely untested. But for customers with limited road access, UAVs are already proving that there is plenty of room for this niche to fly.
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