MightyFly unveils new hybrid drone

The aircraft design, known as the MightyFly Cento (previously known as the MF-100), has a range of 965km and can operate at speeds of up to 240km/h.

The Cento has eight vertical-lift fans and one forward propulsion propeller, and is powered by a hybrid powertrain in which the aircraft’s main electric battery can be recharged using an internal combustion engine – reducing the number of recharging stops between flights, and enabling multiple deliveries to be made per trip.

The aircraft takes up an area of 4x5m, roughly the total area of two compact cars, and has a weight of 161kg when fully loaded. It has capacity to carry up to 96 ‘small’ standard US Postal Service packages, which can be loaded and unloaded via an automated conveyor belt.

MightyFly began autonomous flight testing of the Cento in December 2022, alongside the development of a larger vehicle that capable of carrying loads of up to 227kg.

The Cento has now received FAA approval

The Cento has now been granted US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) special airworthiness certification, as well as a certificate of authorization for long-range flights. This will allow MightyFly to demonstrate the aircraft’s autonomous long-range flight capabilities. The company said that with the certification in place, ‘the company will be able to accelerate the development of its autonomous aircraft, with a larger airspace in which to test the transition from hover to forward flight at medium and high altitudes – up to 5,000ft (1,524m).’

“The traditional hub-and-spoke distribution model can still serve businesses that have centralized warehousing and shipping systems in place and that have experienced few logistics issues,” said Manal Habib, MightyFly’s CEO and co-founder. “But if there is one lesson we’ve learned from supply chain bottlenecks and logistics over the past few years, it’s that we need flexibility – to be able to adapt to various cargo volumes and expedited timing or urgencies. Medical companies, just-in-time manufacturing, and the 51 per cent of all retailers that now provide same-day delivery need a faster and more affordable way to get their goods and perishables to the final destination.”

Cargo drones are becoming increasingly popular as a means to offer rapid transportation of medical samples, medicines and blood supplies. Rwanda recently announced plans to launch a national drone network.