Posted on 01/22/2023 6:27:01 AM PST by FarCenter
BEIJING -- Chinese cargo drone startup AirWhiteWhale plans to raise between 100 million yuan and 150 million yuan ($14.7 million and $22.1 million). The fresh capital will be used for design, research and development, and bolstering its workforce, as well as for product trials and component testing.
AirWhiteWhale was founded in 2021 by current CEO Hu Zhendong, who graduated from Beihang University with a Ph.D. in aircraft design. He has worked at a number of aircraft manufacturers including Airbus and Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China.
The Chinese government has officially announced operating standards for fixed-wing, large cargo drones, and there is clear demand for branch-line -- or secondary -- transportation using large cargo drones in the logistics sector. Hu sees this as a big opportunity for market expansion.
Chinese companies have been developing deliveries by small drones, medium- and short-haul multicopters with 100-kilogram payloads, and branch-line transportation using large drones with a maximum takeoff weight of several tonnes.
But few companies have entered the large cargo drone sector in China apart from AirWhiteWhale, SF Express, JD Logistics and several startups.
Branch-line transportation via air is still nascent in China but is beginning to take off.
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AirWhiteWhale's first model W5000 has a maximum takeoff weight of 10.8 tonnes, a maximum payload of 5 tonnes, and a standard cruising range of 1,200 kilometers that can reach up to 2,600 km. Its rear hatch is designed to make cargo transfers easier. It can use standard cargo containers and palettes, and its 65-cubic-meter cargo compartment can accommodate most types of freight.
Large cargo drones are also less expensive than regular cargo planes. With no pilots and lighter airframes, labor and fuel costs can be reduced. And as there are no cockpits or toilets -- as well as no systems for pressurization, oxygen or climate control -- manufacturing costs and operating costs are also lower.
Military use in a combat zone? Yes.
Civilian use? Never.
Every once in a while someone tries to make a go of Lighter Than Air cargo transport. They avoid hydrogen (of course) but some sort of helium-blimp could have large carrying capacity for cargo which isn’t especially time-sensitive. But these ideas never seem to work.
Fixed-wing drones seem similar but different. I don’t have high hopes.
How many bombs can it carry?
Would it ever fly straight into a building, or say an aircraft carrier
Asking for a friend
Why not civilian? About 2/3 of China is thinly populated and a cargo drone could be quite effective in reaching isolated cities.
Even China has liability laws. Imagine a child who wanders onto the runway, or the drone malfunctions and plows into an apartment block.
“Civilian use? Never.”
Why not? Never is a long time.
You know, if you read Moby Dick a second time, Ahab and the whale become good friends.
I can’t sleep I tell ya!
Yeah, I know, ‘never say never.’ Next 20 years? No.
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