Bell pursues multiple certifications for APT cargo drone

Aircraft manufacturer Bell is advancing its certification for its unmanned cargo drone Autonomous Pod Transport (APT) 70 amid strong international customer interest. Fort Worth, Texas-based Bell has secured multiple customers across the globe for its APT 70 drone and is working on respective certifications for each national jurisdiction where its customers are based, the company told Cargo Facts . [caption id="attachment_56860874" align="alignright" width="460"] The FAA has given the APT 70 a number of permits for flight testing and experiments. (Photo/Bell)[/caption] The lack of bilateral certification agreements between countries regarding drone certification means Bell must pursue multiple certifications independently based on customer needs, according to the manufacturer. Due to working with regulators in different countries, there is still no clear certification timeline or definitive launch partner for the APT 70, Bell said. The company is confident in its accreditation experience and expects the first certification to be either with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the U.S., or Transport Canada. The FAA has given the APT 70 a number of permits for flight testing and experiments, Bell added. The APT 70 and its smaller sibling The APT 70 is the larger of two electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft designed for beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations. The APT 70 and the smaller APT 20 earned their names from their 70 lb and 20 lb cargo capacity. Bell said that it is focusing on the larger APT 70 variant because it felt that the weight category was more unique, adding that the last-mile drone space is already populated with a variety of other competitive unmanned aircraft systems. The APT 70 began test flights in 2018 and can reach speeds of up to 60 kts, at a range of just over 30 nautical miles. Bell sees strong demand for the APT’s middle-mile performance and is working to modify its design for specific customer use case scenarios including off-shore cargo , medical deliveries and sparsely populated operations, the company told Cargo Facts . Test trials Earlier in March, the APT completed trials with the U.S. military’s Army Expeditionary Warrior Experiment (AEWE) which demonstrated the APT 70’s ability to deliver cargo without landing, along with other ease-of-use experiments. The APT 70 features modular cargo pods for loading and can have its batteries replaced in around three minutes, according to Bell. Elroy Air’s Chaparral C1 also takes advantage of a modular design for its own cargo loading system. In 2020, Bell completed testing with NASA, which outrigged the APT 70 with remote sensor pods — like on Xwing’s modified unmanned Cessna 206 platform — to experiment with integration into the National Airspace System (NAS). Xwing, for its part, has also partnered with NASA to study unmanned aircraft integration into the U.S. NAS. Cargo Facts EMEA, the essential event for stakeholders in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, will take place live Feb. 6-8 in Dubai. Register today to take advantage of early-bird pricing.

Bell pursues multiple certifications for APT cargo drone

The company sees strong demand for its middle-mile variant

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