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Hanneke Weitering

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Hybrid-electric cargo drone maker inks $50 million contract with healthcare logistics provider

MightyFly To Launch Medical Drone Deliveries in California

Charles Alcock

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Aircraft features patented Autonomous Load Mastering System

U.S. Air Force Evaluates MightyFly’s Cento Cargo Drone

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The 100-pound-payload Cento is expected to have a range of up to around 522 nm

MightyFly Flies Autonomous Freighter in FAA-approved Corridor

MightyFly has rolled out its latest rendition of its Cento aircraft, a hybrid eVTOL freighter designed to carry 100-pound payloads up to 600 miles. The company unveiled the third-generation Cento prototype on January 25 during a special event at its San Leandro, California headquarters.&nbsp;Earlier that day, the FAA granted MightyFly a special airworthiness certificate and a certificate of authorization permitting it to fly the experimental aircraft between the San Francisco Bay-area Byron and New Jerusalem airports.&nbsp;
While the third-generation Cento prototype has similar specifications as the <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2023-01-24/mightyfly-starts-flight-testing-longer-range-autonomous-evtol-freighter">second-generation version MightyFly revealed one year ago</a>, it has some pretty significant differences, most notably in the airframe. The earlier prototype featured a fixed-wing configuration with a V-tail, while the updated version uses a tandem-wing design with landing gear built into the canard.&nbsp;
It still has a pusher propeller in the rear and eight vertical lift fans mounted to the sides, but the configuration of the vertical lift fans has changed. On the second-generation Cento, the propellers were lined up on two booms running parallel to the fuselage. Now they’re mounted in pairs on four separate booms that extend outward from the fuselage.&nbsp;
MightyFly said the upgraded design improves operational efficiency while giving the aircraft the ability to accommodate for greater variation in its center of gravity. Depending on the contents and loading order of cargo items, the aircraft’s center of gravity can vary quite a bit, and the new Cento configuration allows for more wiggle room when balancing the payload.&nbsp;
The new Cento also features an enlarged cargo bay made with a lightweight composite structure. This provides more room for larger packages, including coolers used to transport human organs for transplants.&nbsp;
“The vehicle you see today is a testimony of MightyFly’s talent, creativity, innovation, and decades of industry expertise. This technology will help save lives and solve painful logistics needs of businesses around the globe,” said Tim Draper, one of MightyFly’s investors.
MightyFly is developing the Cento, as well as a larger variant with a 500-pound payload capacity, to enable same-day, door-to-door delivery services without the need for costly ground infrastructure and personnel. To make operations more efficient, it has integrated what it calls an autonomous load mastering system (ALMS), which enables the aircraft to load and unload cargo autonomously with no human intervention. The ALMS automatically opens and closes the cargo hatch and uses an internal positioning system to secure packages inside while ensuring the load remains balanced.&nbsp;
Following a flight test campaign with the third-generation Cento prototype, MightyFly aims to publicly debut its autonomous cargo delivery system in the fall of 2024 with a series of demonstration flights in Michigan. It is also working under contract with the U.S. Air Force to explore defense applications for the large cargo drones.

Science & Technology Editor

MightyFly Rolls Out Third-Generation Autonomous eVTOL Freighter

MightyFly this week unveiled its Cento second-generation autonomous eVTOL freighter aircraft, which incorporates improvements on the earlier MF-100 model, including a new pusher propeller to boost range to 600 miles. The California-based start-up is expanding demonstration flights after the FAA issued a special airworthiness certificate and a certificate of authorization (COA) for the hybrid-electric vehicle, which&nbsp;is expected to carry a 100-pound payload. 
Since early 2022, the company has been conducting remotely piloted test flights with the <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-02-17/mightyfly-steps-flight-testing-automated-autonomous-cargo-deliveries">MF-100 </a>under an FAA experimental license. In December 2022, MightyFly began flying the Cento under the terms of the COA, which it says will allow it to demonstrate the critical transition from hover to horizontal flight and conduct flight testing in larger, 230-square-mile airspace and at altitudes of up to 5,000 feet.
The Cento, named after the Italian word for 100,&nbsp;has eight electrical vertical lift fans, each with its own electric motor, and a single pusher propeller for forward propulsion to support speeds of up to 150 mph. The powertrain also consists of an unspecified 30-horsepower&nbsp;internal combustion engine that charges the batteries during flights, avoiding the need for recharging facilities on the ground.
While the earlier MF-100 also had a pusher propeller it was not fitted with an engine to power it. Adding the engine to achieve the range that MightyFly feels is needed to be commercially competitive, required its engineering team to fundamentally redesign the aircraft to take account of the weight and balance implications of adding the engine.
When fully loaded, the Cento's high-wing carbon fiber airframe will weigh 355 pounds. On the ground, it will have a footprint smaller than that&nbsp;of two compact cars, which MightyFly says will allow it to operate in multiple locations. 
<figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-media align-center">
<article class="media media--type-image media--view-mode-default">
 
 
 <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/futureflight/import/MightyFly%20Second%20Generation%20Aircraft%2C%20Cento%2C%20car%20comparison.jpg" width="3600" height="2400" alt="MightyFly says it Cento eVTOL freighter only requires the ground footprint of two compact cars to operate." title="MightyFly says it Cento eVTOL freighter only requires the ground footprint of two compact cars to operate. (Image: MightyFly)">

</div>
 
 <div class="field field--name-field-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">MightyFly says it Cento eVTOL freighter only requires the ground footprint of two compact cars to operate. (Image: MightyFly)</div>
 
 </article>

<figcaption>MightyFly says the Cento eVTOL freighter has the ground footprint of only two compact cars. (Image: MightyFly)</figcaption>
</figure>
<h3 class="subheading">Human-free Loading and Unloading</h3>
The vehicle’s six-cubic-foot&nbsp;internal cargo bay&nbsp;has space for 96 small U.S. Postal Service packages. The freight can be autonomously loaded and unloaded using an onboard conveyor belt so no human handling other than parcel drop-off and pickups will be required at ground stations.
According to MightyFly co-founder and CEO Manal Habib, the company is now permitted to showcase operational trials in an enlarged airspace in the San Francisco Bay area with a radius of up to eight nm. This will allow it to simulate longer-range delivery operations. 
With further FAA approvals possible, it may also be able to conduct flight trials in other specific locations. The company has embarked on a nine-month program of flight tests as it seeks to complete type certification.
"This airplane is designed to withstand the loads of fixed-wing flight and has control surfaces for fixed-wing flight, with redundancy across the major critical parts," Habib explained to&nbsp;FutureFlight. "With this Cento we have entered a year-long test cycle, starting with vertical flight, then transition and afterward long-range flight."
<figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-media align-center">
<article class="media media--type-image media--view-mode-default">
 
 
 <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/futureflight/import/MightyFly%20Second%20Generation%20Aircraft%2C%20Cento%2C%20and%20HQ%20team%282%29.jpg" width="3840" height="2400" alt="MightyFly co-founder and CEO Manal Habib (pictured center) leads the team developing the Cento eVTOL aircraft." title="MightyFly co-founder and CEO Manal Habib (pictured center) leads the team developing the Cento eVTOL aircraft. (Image: MightyFly)">

</div>
 
 <div class="field field--name-field-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">MightyFly co-founder and CEO Manal Habib (pictured center) leads the team developing the Cento eVTOL aircraft. (Image: MightyFly)</div>
 
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<figcaption>MightyFly co-founder and CEO Manal Habib (pictured center) leads the team developing the Cento eVTOL aircraft. (Image: MightyFly)</figcaption>
</figure>
Habib told FutureFlight that MightFly’s objective is to develop a more point-to-point model for freight deliveries that she says will be more cost-effective than current hub-and-spoke networks. The company intends to operate the aircraft itself on behalf of commercial clients.
“We have had a lot of interest from medical and pharmaceutical companies, as well as manufacturers who need help with just-in-time production methods, and same-day retail deliveries,” she said. “It is far cheaper than vans that are not fully loaded much of the time, while the Cento will be full or close to fully loaded most of the time.”
The U.S. Air Force recently awarded MightyFly a Small Business Innovation Research grant contract to explore potential defense applications for the Cento. The company intends to start developing a larger version of the vehicle with a 500-pound payload within the next few years.
MightyFly is looking to set up trial programs with prospective customers in the U.S. and other countries, including Australia, Singapore, and Japan. The <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2021-04-20/mightyfly-cleared-start-autonomous-cargo-drone-services">company</a>, which attracted $5.1 million in seed funding in 2021, says it is now&nbsp;"hiring talent across many functions, including operations, logistics, business, and engineering."

Managing Editor

MightyFly Starts Flight Testing Longer-range Autonomous eVTOL Freighter Aircraft

MightyFly has completed the first test flights with its MF-100 autonomous cargo aircraft and is preparing to start piloted freight delivery operations in 2023. On February 17, the company reported that the remotely monitored flights have been conducted over recent months in the San Francisco Bay Area under an FAA special airworthiness certificate issued last year.
The initial vertical takeoff and landing hover flights at Half Moon Airport were made in winds of up to 15 knots.” The MightyFly engineering team has been checking on the redundancy performance of&nbsp;the MF-100’s hybrid-electric propulsion system and its sensors&nbsp;as well as conducting stress tests with some payload onboard.
CEO and founder Manal Habib told FutureFlight that the next phase of testing will begin within a few months to demonstrate the transition to horizontal cruise flight over longer ranges. The MF-100 is expected to have a payload of 100 pounds on flights of up to 600 miles at 150 mph, and the company already has plans for a larger model that could carry 500 pounds.
MightyFly is planning to launch door-to-door freight delivery services with it operating fleets of MF-100s in various locations. This might involve charges based on weight, volume, and distance or providing customers with dedicated aircraft that could be based at facilities such as warehouses. 
The company estimates the vehicle will need a landing area of just 20&nbsp;by&nbsp;20&nbsp;feet, as part of “transfer stations” where cargo can be automatically loaded and unloaded via&nbsp;the MF-100’s nose and using a conveyor belt. When required, last-mile deliveries could then be made with electric ground vehicles.
According to Habib, she is now in talks with several prospective launch customers to be involved in a pilot project, now expected to start in 2023, to evaluate a logistics operation while continuing the flight testing. In addition to the U.S., early&nbsp;use cases could be in locations such as Singapore, Australia, and Japan.
“Over 20 Fortune 500 companies have validated MightFly’s autonomous logistics solution to their mid-mile inefficiencies,” Habib claimed. The company says&nbsp;that its automated loading process and the ability to replace multiple delivery legs with point-to-point connections will significantly drive down delivery and supply chain costs. 
“Loading and unloading cargo is traditionally a very&nbsp;labor-intensive process,” said John Formisano, a retired FedEx executive who now serves on MightyFly’s board. “MightFly will simplify this process, eliminating costly errors and delays.”
The MF-100’s propulsion system now consists of an internal combustion engine, as well as electric motors. The engine recharges batteries in flight to minimize the need for ground infrastructure for this purpose.
Under current FAA rules, the crews remotely monitoring flights are fully qualified pilots who are also trained in operating drones. “Effectively, they are IFR pilots and the MF-100 has very similar instruments to a normal aircraft,” Habib explained.
Since completing a $5.1 million seed funding round in 2021, MightFly has increased the size of its team fourfold. It is in talks with some prospective investors ahead of a possible further funding round next year.
The company has posted <a href="https://youtu.be/Xks-nUtCa40">a video</a> showing the MF-100 prototype flying and illustrating its proposed operating model.

MightyFly Steps Up Flight Testing for Automated, Autonomous Cargo Deliveries

The FAA has granted a special airworthiness certificate to allow MightyFly to start conducting test flights with its hybrid-electric MF-100 autonomous eVTOL cargo aircraft. The San Francisco-based company&nbsp;intends to use the aircraft to provide an almost door-to-door service with autonomous transfers of loads being made via ground transfer stations.
The MF-100 will have a 100-pound payload and a range of up to 600 miles at speeds of 150 mph. MightyFly is planning to develop a larger version with a 500-pound payload.
The company has just completed a $5.1 million seed funding round that will support the start of a pilot business-to-business delivery service in 2022. It aims to later earn a full Part 135 operating certificate to allow it to expand services beyond the limits of the special approval, and this will likely take another two or three years.
According to cofounder and CEO Manal Habib, while there is a growing demand for expedited deliveries, the current business model doesn’t work because to be profitable it depends on each truck and aircraft being almost fully loaded. MightyFly’s objective is to make its entire operation autonomous, with a small team supervising flights and transfers remotely.
The aircraft will be equipped with automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) In and Out, as well as communicate with the unmanned aircraft system traffic management network and MightyFly’s own 24/7 control center.
At the transfer stations, cargo will be switched in and out of the MF-100 aircraft using a system similar to a conveyor belt to unload via a door in the nose section. The multiple stations will be as close as possible to final addresses for deliveries with the actual "last mile"&nbsp;sector being completed, eventually, in electric autonomous ground vehicles. Customers are expected to include existing logistics providers, retail outlets, and medical services.
The funding round for MightyFly is supported by venture capital groups 500 Startups, At One Ventures, Global Founders Capital, Graph Ventures, and Halogen Ventures. The new capital will mainly be used to recruit more technical staff and build further test aircraft.
Manal Habib and her cofounder and CTO, Scott Parker, were formerly with unmanned aircraft developer Zipline, where she led the flight-controls unit and he was a senior mechanical engineer (having also worked for Volansi). Habib received degrees in aerospace engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University and is a private pilot. 
MightyFly is one of several companies developing eVTOL and eSTOL aircraft for cargo operations, but most of the others are intended to have a pilot on board. These include Airflow, which is working on a fixed-wing design that also has a 500-pound payload but that would operate from short landing strips of around 150 feet in length. Xwing is working on converting Cessna 208B Grand Caravans to fully autonomous operations.
Last week, Japanese airline ANA announced a partnership with German cargo drone service provider Wingcopter to deliver pharmaceuticals and other consumer products. The two companies will conduct trials aimed at developing a delivery network across Japan by 2022.
Wingcopter has been operating its 178 drone&nbsp;in trial operations in Zambia since 2019. However, the all-electric aircraft has much less range and payload than the MF-100, being able to carry just 2 kg (4.4 pounds) on journeys of up to 100 km (62 miles).
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MightyFly

News

MightyFly To Launch Medical Drone Deliveries in California

U.S. Air Force Evaluates MightyFly’s Cento Cargo Drone

MightyFly Flies Autonomous Freighter in FAA-approved Corridor

MightyFly Rolls Out Third-Generation Autonomous eVTOL Freighter

MightyFly Starts Flight Testing Longer-range Autonomous eVTOL Freighter Aircraft

MightyFly Steps Up Flight Testing for Automated, Autonomous Cargo Deliveries

MightyFly Cleared to Start Autonomous Cargo Drone Services

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