Aeros to Conduct Trials for ‘Airborne Warehouse’ Concept Above Los Angeles

Shashwat Dwivedi
3 hours ago
1 min read

Los Angeles based airship development company Aeros is in the process to conduct trials for a new concept being described as an “Airborne Warehouse”. An airship will hover at 1,200 feet over the suburbs while small, unmanned aircraft shuttle to and from the cargo deck, delivering parcels to homes. The company envisions this mother airship acting as a central airborne distribution platform over a designated area.

Igor Pasternak, CEO of Aeros, insists that the ship, a concept he has promoted for over a decade, is close to becoming reality. His company plans to conduct a trial later this year using one of its in-production blimps. He hopes the publicity will kickstart a fundraising effort that will eventually lead to a fleet of what he refers to as electrically powered variable buoyancy airships, or eVBAs.

Pasternak revealed that his Aeroscraft airships will be capable of vertical ascent and descent and can remain stable over a fixed location for extended periods. This is made possible by a system that compresses and releases helium within the hull, removing the need for ballast when cargo is offloaded.

In the tests planned for later this year over the skies of Los Angeles, the company will be using the Sky Dragon airship, a surveillance platform with a 900 kg-payload. According to Pasternak, it can carry enough parcels to demonstrate the concept.

The parcel-carrying drones for these tests will be supplied by a company called Shipbots. Once the proof of concept is successful, Aeros intends to move towards commercial scaling.

One challenge remains, the ability of cargo drones to fly above 400ft, which is currently the limit under Federal Aviation Administration regulations. The Aeroscraft’s optimal hovering altitude is 1,200 feet. However, Pasternak says the FAA, which in early September proposed a new regulatory framework for expanded beyond-visual-line-of-sight drone operations, is enthusiastic about the concept and is supportive.