Elroy Air secures $2 billion in VTOL purchases, transitions to new flight testing facility

Elroy Air (South San Francisco, Calif., U.S.), a company developing Chaparral, a composite end-to-end autonomous vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aerial cargo system, has secured a commitment with LCI, an aviation company and a subsidiary of Libra Group, for the purchase of up to 40 of the company’s VTOL aircraft, with deposits paid for the first 20 vehicles. According to several sources, Elroy Air has now secured more than $2 billion in aircraft purchase demand for more than 900 Chaparral systems in the commercial, defense and humanitarian sectors.

Chaparral is reported to be a “lift + cruise” VTOL aircraft with a carbon fiber composite airframe, per Medium.com. It is designed for aerial transport of up to 500 pounds (225 kilograms) of goods for long-range missions (300-nautical-mile range), and is designed to fit in a “40-foot shipping container or C-130 cargo aircraft, enabling it to be quickly shipped and deployed for missions anywhere in the world.” Its flight is enabled initially by a turbine-based hybrid-electric powertrain with distributed electrical propulsion, and specially designed aerodynamic modular cargo pods. 

According to Kofi Asante, VP of business development and strategy, Elroy Air, Chapparal’s applications include “aerial cargo transport for disaster relief, firefighting and humanitarian operations without risk to pilots or the need for airport infrastructure.”

According to the LCI announcement, the VTOL aircraft will complement LCI’s existing fleet of modern helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. “We have been impressed with Elroy Air’s vision and approach and look forward to working closely with the team on a wide range of opportunities,” Jaspal Jandu, CEO of LCI, says. “This forms part of our wider advanced air mobility [AAM] strategy and will strengthen LCI’s position as a leading provider of leasing, financing and investing solutions for this new and exciting market.”

In addition to the new agreement, Elroy Air has moved its flight testing facility to Byron Airport in Byron, Calif., U.S. to support full-scale ground and flight testing. Moreover, in partnership with Urban Air Mobility — a joint-venture between MS Commercial Inc. and Nearon Enterprises — Elroy Air has “leased and prepared a new 7,000-square-foot hangar at Byron Airport for its ground and flight test campaigns.” The Byron hangar is equipped with a large storage and work area, the first production Chaparral vehicle (C1–1), and, thanks to Chaparral’s wing stowing mechanism, multiple C1 systems can be housed and maintained there.