The battery-powered Horsefly can carry a 10-pound package 20 miles in almost any weather. It costs just two cents a mile to operate, compared to 50 cents for a typical diesel-powered step van. Most of its deliveries would be less than two miles because it flies from the roof of the company’s battery-powered delivery van, known as the Workhorse.
The Loveland –based company announced the new Horsefly prototype in June. It was developed in partnership with University of Cincinnati’s engineering school and will be sold as an option to its electric delivery van if the Federal Aviation Administration allows delivery drones as expected in 2015.
“As with anything that’s radically different, we expect it to start slow,” said Amp Holding CEO Steve Burns. “But the economics at two cents a mile are so overwhelming. If it’s safe and legal, it has a place in the delivery business and we want to be there at the forefront.”
Source: WCPO