Gregory Polek has spent his entire career in aviation journalism with AIN, starting as a proofreader and assistant to then-managing editor Mary Mahoney in 1995 after serving an internship with&nbsp;New Jersey Monthly&nbsp;magazine and completing his B.A. degree in English/Writing at New Jersey’s William Paterson College. By 1997 Polek accepted a position as an associate editor, covering the regional airline beat for&nbsp;Aviation International News&nbsp;in place of retiring industry veteran Don Anderson. The assignment took Polek across North America and Europe to profile regional airlines varying in size and mission from the likes of floatplane operators Kenmore Air and Chalk’s Ocean Airways to regional jet operators such as SkyWest and American Eagle. Today, in his dual role as Air Transport Editor and International Airshow Editor, Polek writes, edits, and manages AIN’s commercial aviation content while overseeing each of the company’s daily international air show publications in Paris, Farnborough, Singapore, and Dubai. Most recently Polek has assumed oversight of daily coverage of the Helicopter Association International’s annual Heli-Expo convention.

Senior Editor

FedEx Express and California-based autonomous VTOL cargo system developer Elroy Air have reached an agreement under which the package delivery giant would test Elroy Air’s Chaparral autonomous air cargo system within its middle-mile logistics operations, moving shipments between sortation locations, the companies said Tuesday.
FedEx and Elroy Air have worked together since January 2020 and plan to continue their collaboration to pursue the start of flight testing in 2023.
“FedEx was built on innovation and we are always looking toward new technologies to help enhance the logistics industry through improved safety, efficiency, and customer service,” said&nbsp;FedEx Express vice president of global planning, engineering, and technology Joe Stephens. “We look forward to continued testing and learning throughout our collaboration with Elroy Air.”
Elroy Air unveiled what it described as a preproduction version of its Chaparral C1 VTOL cargo transporter in January. The eVTOL aerial cargo system can autonomously pick up 300 to 500 pounds of cargo and deliver it by air to a range of 300 miles without the need for additional infrastructure such as airports or charging stations.
“We are proud to work with FedEx to build the next generation of express logistics,” said Elroy Air vice president of business development and strategy Kofi Asante. “When you’re not limited by challenging infrastructure, traffic, or airports, logistics can reach more people, faster than ever before. We look forward to working together to create a new future for how we get goods to people around the world.”
The Chaparral features eight vertical lift fans, four distributed electric propulsors for cruise flight, 11 aero-surface actuators, and a high wing. Other key features include a high-voltage power distribution system designed for fault isolation, a redundant 700-volt lithium battery pack sized to handle generator failure, an onboard detect-and-avoid system, a command-and-control data link, Lidar systems for ground safety and navigation, and an ADS-B in/out transceiver.
A 150-kW gas turbine-based electrical power-generation system will provide electrical power for propulsion and recharge the onboard battery during flight, eliminating recharging downtime.
For loading and unloading, Elroy Air designed a proprietary cargo container and automated cargo-handling system. The modular cargo pod consists of a pallet and an aero-fairing cover. Freight is stacked on the pallet and strapped down before the cover is slid over and attached for flight. Operators can move the pod with a standard pallet jack and forklift, and the aircraft features robotic winching and latching for rapid loading and unloading.
Once the cargo pod is locked and loaded, the automated cargo-handling system comes into play. “As soon as the aircraft lands vertically, it is assigned a place to unload the inbound cargo, where it lowers and releases the pod,” explained Elroy Air co-founder and CEO David Merrill
Merrill during the Vertical Flight Society’s Transformative Vertical Flight conference in San Jose, California, in late January. “Then, based on its next assignment, the Chaparral automatically taxis to and aligns with the new container, picks it up, and secures it for the mission before taxiing to takeoff.”

Gregory Polek

FedEx plans to evaluate how it could use Elroy Air's Chaparral autonomous eVTOL vehicle for parcel distribution, carrying up to 500 pounds over distances of 300 miles. (Photo: Elroy Air)

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