MightyFly’s Cento autonomous airplane could become a convenient method of delivering mail to the United States and abroad. The new model can be parked in two spaces and will not require any additional parking. California’s developer is currently in negotiations with the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), to obtain long-route permits.
Cento is 161kg and comes in a carbon fibre case. It also contains 45kg of cargo. The model can travel approximately 1000 km without any problems due to ground traffic thanks to eight lift screws and a pusher propeller at the tail. This is much faster than what land transport can offer. The hybrid power plant is an important element of the design. While electric motors drive the vehicle, an internal combustion engine is used to recharge the batteries during flight.
The structure measures 4 by 5 metres, which is less than the size of two compact cars. Anybody with sufficient space can receive and send parcels when commercial operations begin. The cargo compartment also has a conveyor that allows for easy collection and delivery of parcels.
Since December last year, tests have been ongoing. The FAA provided a model for the so-called. Special certificate of airworthiness to be used for testing flights. Commercial deliveries are not permitted. So far, MightyFly’s solution has been allocated an area of 596 km2 for testing and a high-altitude ceiling of 1500 m for testing. The company is hopeful to soon be granted permission to conduct “unprecedented” full fledged missions, with a full load and over 1000 km.