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Pelican Cargo unveiled as world's largest autonomous electric cargo plane

By Paul Ridden
January 31, 2023
Pelican Cargo unveiled as world's largest autonomous electric cargo plane
Pyka expects the first commercial operation of the Pelican Cargo uncrewed aerial system to commence in the second half of 2023
Pyka expects the first commercial operation of the Pelican Cargo uncrewed aerial system to commence in the second half of 2023
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Pyka expects the first commercial operation of the Pelican Cargo uncrewed aerial system to commence in the second half of 2023
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Pyka expects the first commercial operation of the Pelican Cargo uncrewed aerial system to commence in the second half of 2023
The Pelican Cargo features a suite of sensors to enable autonomous cargo delivery by air
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The Pelican Cargo features a suite of sensors to enable autonomous cargo delivery by air
The Pelican Cargo aircraft has a per-charge range of 200 miles, operates at a cruise speed of 80-90 knots, and can haul up to 400 lb of cargo per trip
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The Pelican Cargo aircraft has a per-charge range of 200 miles, operates at a cruise speed of 80-90 knots, and can haul up to 400 lb of cargo per trip
The Pelican Cargo measures 24 ft in length, stands 7 ft high, and it has a wingspan of 38 ft
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The Pelican Cargo measures 24 ft in length, stands 7 ft high, and it has a wingspan of 38 ft
View gallery - 4 images

Back in 2020, California-based startup Pyka launched an autonomous electric crop duster called the Pelican. Now the company has developed a cargo-carrying version that's billed as the world's largest autonomous electric cargo airplane.

"Pelican Cargo will have a significant positive impact on people's lives," said company CEO and co-founder, Michael Norcia. "We designed this plane to eliminate CO2 emissions from the logistics chain, while offering a significant speed advantage over ground transportation and operating costs at a fraction of conventional air transportation."

The Pelican Cargo uncrewed aerial system has been developed for last-mile express logistics operations, with Pyka noting that it would be particularly useful for delivering cargo to remote rural communities.

It features a 50-kWh Li-ion battery pack that offers a per-charge range of up to 200 miles (320 km) – plus a 20-minute reserve. Four 25-kW (33.5-hp) electric motors power the two fixed-pitch props to the front and back of each wing, and the aircraft benefits from a fully redundant propulsion, controls and sensor suite.

The Pelican Cargo features a suite of sensors to enable autonomous cargo delivery by air
The Pelican Cargo features a suite of sensors to enable autonomous cargo delivery by air

The cargo flyer measures 24 ft (7.3 m) in length and stands 7 ft (2.1 m) high. A 400-lb (181-kg) payload is front loaded into the 66 cubic feet (1.87 cu m) cargo space via a pop-up nose and sliding tray. The aircraft has a total wingspan of 38 ft (11.5 m), and needs a 600 x 50-ft (183 x 15-m) paved/gravel/dirt/grass runway to get in the air, after which it flies at a cruise speed of between 80 and 90 knots (92-103 mph/148-167 km/h).

Autonomous flight capabilities are built around a proprietary flight engine rocking six processors spread over two computer systems, forward-facing LiDAR plus GPS, radar and laser technologies. The company reckons that logistics companies will be able to operate the aircraft with minimal training.

Pyka reports that it's inked more than 80 pre-commitment orders from three launch customers so far, one of which has been confirmed as UK operator Skyports Drone Services – with a flight program expected to begin in early Q2 in Cornwall. The video below has more.

Pyka Pelican Cargo Unveil - Large Autonomous Electric Cargo UAS

Source: Pyka Inc.

View gallery - 4 images

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AircraftCargoDelivery dronesAutonomous flight
7 comments
Paul Ridden
Paul Ridden
While Paul is loath to reveal his age, he will admit to cutting his IT teeth on a TRS-80 (although he won't say which version). An obsessive fascination with computer technology blossomed from hobby into career before hopping over to France for 10 years, where he started work for New Atlas in 2009. Now back in his native Blighty, he serves as Managing Editor in Europe.

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7 comments
dan
What is the advantage of two (fix pitch) props in line?

Propulsion is more efficient, the more air is moved (big prop diameter, less velocity) and better in laminar flow (in front of the wing). Anybody knows why they have chosen this design?
vince
Tbey should design a plane with a large foldout scoop between landing hear wheels snd literally fly down runway to scoop up packages so that landing isnt necessary. And drop them same way out back end. How keep packages from being damaged and arriving on your front porch means the ctaft would need hovering abilities.
JemThomas
A pure electric aviation use case that makes sense, STOL rather than VTOL enables a decent range. This will be useful for remote island deliveries and over mountain ranges where the transit can't compete. I suspect the Cornwall use will be same day deliveries to the Scilly Isles which has STOL infrastructure at both ends. Often advances come where you least expect them with boring mundane applications.
michael_dowling
This vehicle could benefit from another development reported here recently, namely toroidal propellers. https://newatlas.com/aircraft/toroidal-quiet-propellers/
PAV
100 miles one way then 100 miles back. So what is the use of this thing? You can carry cargo but who loads and who unloads the cargo? Why?
Captain Obvious
Who loads it? The same guy who would otherwise drive 4 hours to deliver the cargo, but now can just push a button and it flies itself. If you deliver to an island, it would take even longer.
OPOC
With a speed of around 100mph and a range of 200 miles plus 20 minutes reserve gives a flight time of 2 hours and 20 minutes which seems to be pushing the boundaries of battery storage technology.