UPS To Deliver Packages With Electric eVTOL Aircraft

[WHITT]

The shipping giant plans to add electric vertical take-off and land aircraft, or eVTOLs, to its fleet of delivery vehicles and has selected Beta Technologies' Alia-250c as the launch aircraft.




The eVTOLs will help UPS reach smaller and medium-sized markets by air but avoid airports altogether. Much like helicopters, the aircraft don't require a runway and can land directly at UPS facilities to minimize transit times and get packages to their destinations sooner.




The Alia-250c boasts a 250-mile range, enough to fly between New York and Washington or Los Angeles and Las Vegas, and a top speed of 170 miles per hour all while carrying loads of up to 1,400 pounds.



[link:https://news.yahoo.com/ups-reveals-plan-buy-hundreds-133138396.html|


YOUR MOVE AMAZON AND FEDEX.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

1. Seems like it might be cleaner than trucks, so to the extent that this is actually true

seems like probably a good thing.

If I were to hazard a guess, when you factor in traffic, these may be cleaner in some cases. Esp. in areas where a preponderance of electricity is sourced from hydro/nuclear/solar/wind.

But I'd like to see the numbers, out of curiosity.

[brush]

2. Oh, what could go wrong? No airport needed, 170 mph. Hmmmm?

[WHITT]

3. No Airport Needed To LAND

They would still be under the normal direction of air traffic controllers. They're not going to be flying a couple hundred feet off the ground.

[brush]

4. The OP mentioned flying with the helicopter traffic.

[WHITT]

5. No

The text merely mentioned taking off and landing like a helicopter (VTOL), the rest of the time they fly like a small plane.

[smirkymonkey]

6. My brother just started working for them after his retirement from the Air Force.

He lives in Burlington. I think he is training the VTOL pilots, I haven't talked to him about it too much because I guess he's really busy. His wife is even getting in on it (she's still in the AF part-time). They are both Colonels.

He originally got a retirement job flying for Delta, but I don't think he was too excited about it and then Covid hit. This opportunity came along at a perfect time for him. It sounds like a pretty interesting operation.

[smirkymonkey]

7. My brother just started working for them after his retirement from the Air Force.

He lives in Burlington. I think he is training the VTOL pilots, I haven't talked to him about it too much because I guess he's really busy. His wife is even getting in on it (she's still in the AF part-time). They are both Colonels.

He originally got a retirement job flying for Delta, but I don't think he was too excited about it and then Covid hit. This opportunity came along at a perfect time for him. It sounds like a pretty interesting operation.