Flowcopter has been working on functional prototypes of its hydraulic-powered drone, and while test flights show a drone still dependent on safety tethers that’s not quite ready to haul cargo just yet, it’s an impressive proof of concept, and one that will improve as more advanced building materials are incorporated into the overall design.
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The company isn’t pretending like the hydraulic motors, the Digital Displacement Pump, the gas engine, and its fuel tanks aren’t heavy, but when compared to the weight of lithium batteries and the limited range of electric drones, its hydraulic drone is a promising design. Flowcopter claims its drone could stay in the air without refueling (or occasionally switching to non-powered gliding flight like a traditional winged aircraft can) for up to six hours and cross distances up to 900 kilometers. Shorter flights could facilitate payloads up to 330 pounds, making the drone a more capable short-range autonomous delivery vehicle that doesn’t have to deal with traffic or lengthy charge times between flights.