Avidrone Aerospace 740T (concept design)

(Image credit: Avidrone Aerospace)

740T (concept design)
Avidrone Aerospace Incorporated
Breslau, Ontario, Canada
www.avidrone.com

Founded 2007, Avidrone Aerospace is in the business of designing and manufacturing commercial and military drones. The company is based in Breslau, Ontario, Canada. The company and been making small drones since 2007 and announced the designing of autonomous heavy-lift air cargo all-electric and hybrid-electric VTOL drones in 2023.

740T heavy-lift air cargo hybrid-electric VTOL tandem-rotorblade drone (concept design)
The 740T is an autonomous heavy-lift air cargo hybrid-electric VTOL tandem-rotorblade drone. The autonomous piloting includes beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations. The aircraft has a modular cargo bay that can carry normal to bulky payloads. Some examples of the variety of payloads include shipping containers, steel drums, long drilling rods, an evac stretcher, wood pallets (including cargo on the pallets) and more. The aircraft has an automated payload release feature.

The expected range of the heavy-lift drone is 724 km (450 miles). The drone has tandem tandem-rotorblades (each propeller has three blades), two electric motors and has a hybrid-electric power source using a turbine engine. The drone looks similiar to a Chinook army helicopter. The empty weight of the drone is calculated at 373 kg (820 lb), has an anticipated maximum payload weight of 227kg (500 lb) and has a projected maximum takeoff weight of 600 kg (1,320 lb). The fuselage is made from carbon fiber composite to give the aircraft a high strength to low weight ratio. The drone has fixed quadricycle strut landing gear.

Specifications:

• Aircraft type: Heavy-lift air cargo hybrid-electric VTOL drone (concept design)
• Piloting: Autonomous piloting, Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations
• Capacity: Air cargo only
• Cruise speed: Unknown
• Range: 724 km (450 miles)
• Empty weight: 373 kg (820 lb)
• Maximum payload weight: 227kg (500 lb)
• Maximum takeoff weight: 600 kg (1,320 lb)
• Propellers: Tandem-rotorblades (2 main rotorblades)
• Electric motors: 2 electric motors
• Power source: Hybrid-electric power source using a turbine engine
• Fuselage: Carbon fiber composite
• Landing gear: Fixed quadricycle strut landing gear
• Safety features: Distributed Electric Propulsion (DEP) uses multiple propellers or electric ducted fans, each powered by electric motors, to increase safety through redundancy. If one or more components fail, the remaining ones can still ensure a safe landing. There are also redundancies of critical components in the sub-systems of the aircraft providing safety through redundancy. Having multiple redundant systems on any aircraft decreases having any single point of failure. 

Related Aircraft:

• Avidrone Aerospace Atlas (concept design)

Company Insights:

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Resources:

• Avidrone Aerospace website
• Avidrone Aerospace LinkedIn
• Article: Avidrone introduces 740T UAV for automated heavy cargo delivery., Army Recognition, Sept. 22, 2023