• Zeitfracht Group orders 17 Wingcopter supply drones and indicators an choice to buy one other 115 till 2023.
• Rostock Airport will likely be used for growth cooperation and as a check area.

Berlin, Weiterstadt, Cologne/Bonn, March 30, 2022 — German logistics and aviation holding Zeitfracht Group and its subsidiary German Airways will likely be among the many first firms worldwide to commercially deploy drones in logistics. In a joint letter of intent with the German drone producer Wingcopter, the businesses have agreed to buy 17 Wingcopter 198 supply drones and purchase choices to order a further 115 drones in two additional tranches by the tip of 2023. The plane are to be deployed from the second half of 2024 – initially offshore, for instance for the supply of spare components to wind farms.

The Zeitfracht Group is already efficiently working on this enterprise with its specialised delivery firm OPUS Marine. Because the supply drones should be capable to land with pinpoint accuracy on a transferring ship, their use will likely be technologically demanding. German Airways and Wingcopter will work intently collectively on the event of this characteristic.

The Wingcopters will take off from Rostock Airport, which has additionally been a part of the Zeitfracht Group for the reason that starting of the 12 months and affords the Wingcopter growth workforce a really perfect atmosphere for prolonged check flights in addition to premises for measurements and the analysis of the info collected within the course of.

Holding an Air Operator Certificates (AOC), German Airways already fulfills important necessities to function Wingcopter’s supply drones within the “particular class” and, later, within the “licensed class”. As well as, German Airways can be IOSA licensed and thus operates in accordance with the very best internationally agreed requirements of the worldwide aviation authority IATA.

Wingcopters can carry a payload of as much as 5 kilograms and – relying on the payload – can cowl distances between 75 and 110 kilometers. The plane had been chosen by German Airways due to their extraordinary wind- and climate resistance and their globally main payload-to-range ratio. They take off vertically, with out requiring extra infrastructure, after which transfer ahead horizontally in flight like a traditional plane. Due to their purely electrical propulsion, Wingcopter supply drones additionally contribute to zero-emission logistics.

Zeitfracht CEO Wolfram Simon-Schröter: “On the Zeitfracht Group, we’re very inventive and at all times eager about utilizing new applied sciences in a market-leading method. We consider the time is now ripe for the business use of drones, for instance for the supply of spare components to offshore wind farms. With German Airways, our Rostock Airport and the expertise of our delivery firm OPUS in supply operations on the excessive seas, along with Wingcopter we’ve got the best conditions to drive this know-how an enormous step ahead.”

“We’re more than happy to have received Zeitfracht as a companion with extraordinary expertise within the logistics and aviation sector. With the deliberate provide flights to ships and offshore wind farms, we are going to faucet into a brand new, fast-growing area of utility for which the Wingcopter 198 is ideally suited due to its excessive effectivity, even in excessive climate situations. As well as, the check web site and the shut cooperation supply the chance to collectively develop additional promising enterprise areas,” provides Tom Plümmer, co-founder and CEO of Wingcopter.

About Wingcopter

Wingcopter is a German producer of eVTOL, fixed-wing unmanned plane programs (UAS) and supplier of drone supply providers, centered on optimizing medical provide chains, in addition to last-mile logistics of packages, instruments, spare components, meals, and groceries. The 120-strong workforce is devoted to enhancing and saving lives worldwide by significant business and humanitarian functions.

Due to its patented tilt-rotor mechanism and software program algorithms, the Wingcopter 198 can take off and land vertically like a multicopter, whereas flying lengthy distances as effectively and rapidly as a fixed-wing plane, even in heavy rain and wind.

In 2020, Wingcopter was named a Know-how Pioneer by the World Financial Discussion board. Wingcopter’s buyers embrace Xplorer Capital, Futury Capital, ITOCHU, DRONE FUND, SYNERJET, Expa, Hessen Kapital III, and Corecam Capital Companions.

About Zeitfracht Group

The Zeitfracht Group is a third-generation household enterprise with greater than 6,300 workers. The corporate is primarily energetic in logistics and commerce (www.zeitfracht.de).