Cargo drone company Dronamics has flown its flagship aircraft, the Black Swan for the first time.
The maiden test flight was conducted from Balchik Airport near Varna in Bulgaria and comes after several months of ground testing and subscale flights. The Black Swan aircraft was remotely piloted by two pilots from the Dronamics ground control station.
The Black Swan cargo drone can carry 350kg (770 lbs) up to 2,500km (1,550 miles) with a wingspan of 16m (52ft) is 4m (13ft) high and has 3.5cbm (125cu ft) of space. It has a maximum speed of 200km/h (125mph) and can fly at a maximum altitude: of 20,000ft.
The maiden flight lasted 10 minutes, during which time the Black Swan traveled 21.5 km (16 miles) with an average speed 140km/h (87mph) and reached an altitude of 2,000ft.
Dronamics, which was founded in 2014 and employs 140 people is targeting end users who want to provide same-day shipping over long distances in several industries including pharmaceuticals, food, e-commerce and spare parts with the Black Swan.
The company said that the first successful flight test validates the company’s cargo drone technology and that commercial flights in Europe are set to begin later this year.
Konstantin Rangelov, co-founder and chief technology officer of Dronamics said, “Since the day we first imagined what the Black Swan aircraft could look like, we’ve worked towards this flight. Today we’ve made history and are proud to have demonstrated the validity of our drone technology.”
Svilen Rangelov, co-founder and CEO of Dronamics said, “It’s taken an enormous amount of hard work, belief and drive to prove that what we envisioned works. We can now focus on the next step, the roll-out of our commercial operations, and we couldn’t be more excited.”