MightyFly, a leading developer of autonomous cargo drones, has achieved a significant milestone by receiving approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to commence flight testing of its large autonomous cargo drone. This approval marks a pivotal moment, making MightyFly the first autonomous cargo eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) company to receive such authorization from the FAA.
The company’s announcement follows its recent commencement of flight testing for its Cento aircraft along the designated flight corridor, which began just a month ago. Under the FAA approval, MightyFly is now permitted to conduct autonomous flights of up to 5,000 feet between California’s New Jerusalem and Byron airports. This authorization also extends to testing Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) capabilities, facilitated by the use of a chase airplane, as well as testing long-range Command and Control (C2) datalink communication and future Detect and Avoid systems for BVLOS flights.
Manal Habiv, CEO of MightyFly, expressed enthusiasm regarding the milestone, stating, “We are thrilled to publicly announce that we are the first large autonomous cargo eVTOL company to receive a flight corridor approval from the FAA and that we have already achieved some exciting and tangible flight test progress of the 2024 Cento.” Habiv added, “This is a solid vote of confidence from the FAA in our work and our ability to perform safe autonomous flights in the general aviation airspace. We now look forward to demonstrating point-to-point delivery flights with our partners in this space.”
MightyFly initiated test flights of its third-generation autonomous Cento aircraft in March at the corridor’s origin airport, completing more than 30 autonomous flights during this phase. The Cento aircraft, unveiled to the public in January, features automated loading and unloading capabilities for packages, with cargo doors that open and close automatically. This design enables the aircraft to receive and eject packages into and out of the cargo area autonomously, while also sensing and computing weight and balance without requiring manual intervention.
Looking ahead, MightyFly is preparing for two public flight debuts aimed at launching the company’s entry into the expedited delivery market.
