What is a heavy lift drone? A practical definition
Where the line sits between a large commercial drone and a genuine heavy lift platform, and why the payload figure alone does not tell you.
Heavy Lift Drone Knowledge Center
Payload derating, battery selection, airframe trade-offs and altitude maths — the questions buyers ask before they commit to an order.
Knowledge Center
Heavy lift drone guides, written by people who fly them
Payload derating, battery selection, airframe trade-offs and altitude maths. The questions buyers ask us before they commit to an order.
How much weight can a drone carry? The altitude answer
Sea-level payload ratings are close to meaningless above 2,000 m. Here is how air density derating actually works, with worked examples.
100 kg vs 200 kg payload drone: how to choose
Most buyers oversize. A simple framework for matching airframe to working load, route distance and crew size.
Fast-charge vs solid-state batteries for heavy lift drones
3C fast-charge packs for continuous duty, or 1C solid-state packs for endurance. The trade-off decides your sortie rate.
Octocopter vs hexacopter: which configuration for heavy payload?
More axes is heavier and more expensive. When the redundancy and thermal margin are worth the trade, and when they are not.
Sizing a cargo drone route: the four numbers that matter
Payload, distance, altitude and temperature. Send us these four and you get a model recommendation instead of a brochure.
Coming Soon
In preparation
Guides currently being written from our field records.
IN DRAFT
Power grid lifting: a field manual
Tower erection, conductor stringing and insulator transport at altitude, drawn from the Tibet project.
IN DRAFT
Payload release systems compared
Hooks, winches and sling configurations, and which interface suits which cargo type.
IN DRAFT
Exporting a heavy lift drone
Lithium battery documentation, freight classes and customs considerations for international buyers.
Tell us the payload. We will tell you the airframe.
Send your payload, altitude and route distance. You get a model recommendation, a battery configuration and a delivered price.