• Elroy Air

  Participated · Series A · Aug 2021

  Elroy Air builds the Chaparral, a hybrid-electric vertical takeoff and landing (hVTOL) aircraft designed to carry 300 pounds up to 300 miles and to autonomously pick up and drop off swappable external cargo pods. The company completed first flight of its C1 aircraft with a turboshaft-hybrid-electric powertrain in 2023 and expanded autonomous flight testing and flight envelope expansion through 2024. Its Chaparral flew at the U.S. Army’s Yuma Proving Ground as part of the Marine Corps MARV-EL program, demonstrating operation in demanding environmental conditions. The aircraft features patent-pending power management IP, onboard sensing and compute for unattended ground logistics, and can be stowed in standard shipping containers and military transport aircraft. Elroy Air plans to productize Chaparral and scale operations to serve defense and commercial customers. The company is headquartered in South San Francisco with flight test operations in Byron, California, and has completed a first close of additional funding to accelerate productization. Elroy Air is developing Chaparral, an autonomous hybrid-electric cargo aircraft designed for 300-mile missions carrying 300–500 pounds with automated flying and cargo-handling capabilities. The vehicle pairs all-electric propulsors with a generator and a turboshaft jet engine to extend range and boost power during takeoff and landing. Elroy has decoupled the cargo pod and implemented GPS and sensing technologies for automated pickup and drop-off, targeting efficiency gains over smaller last-mile drones and eVTOL taxis. The company positions Chaparral as a dual-use system for both defense and commercial markets, with particular interest from the national security community for nimble logistics. Elroy will begin flight validation with the U.S. Air Force and the Navy next year and holds a Phase 3 SBIR contract via Agility Prime. The company has raised $48 million to date and is preparing for certification (Type Certificate and Part 135) while exploring commercial operations abroad or operating systems itself. Elroy Air designs autonomous vertical-takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) drones built to carry hundreds of pounds over long distances; its latest aircraft is the Chaparral. The Chaparral features lidar, cameras, radar, an onboard computer running air-traffic management software, and a hybrid gas-electric powertrain. It can carry between 200 and 500 pounds with a roughly 300-mile range and uses a self-guided ground system to autonomously load and unload cargo. The company emerged from stealth in December 2017 and plans real-world testing of its drone fleet this year, followed by commercial programs with a small number of shippers in select locations in 2020. By the tail end of that timeframe Elroy expects to achieve “24/7” delivery capabilities. Elroy sees use cases ranging from urban same-day delivery to delivering medical supplies and aid to remote or disaster-affected areas. The company must address regulatory hurdles, including FAA rules that currently restrict commercial drone operations over people and require line-of-sight flights.

No current team members are available.