• 20 Jul 2024 07:52 PM
• 0

MightFly Approved for Flight Testing

The US Federal Aviation Administration permitted MightyFly to begin beyond-line-of-sight flight testing of its Cento cargo eVTOL drone, the California-based eVTOL aircraft developer announced on April 30. The company stated that it was “the first large autonomous cargo eVTOL company to receive an FAA flight corridor approval in the US.” The company began flight testing the Cento on March 4 and had completed 30 autonomous flights by the end of April. The flight testing involves a chase plane and takes place in a dedicated corridor between the New Jerusalem and Byron Airports in California, 20 miles (32 km) apart. The tests are preparing MightyFly for a series of upcoming demonstration flights for potential customers in Michigan, in conjunction with a grant it received from the Michigan Mobility Funding Platform, as well as for an evaluation by the US Air Force. MightyFly unveiled the Cento, its third-generation autonomous cargo aircraft, in January (see “MightyFly Unveils Next-Gen Cargo Drone,” Vertiflite, March/April 2024).