DBT Aero Holds Successful Flight of Swyft 3D Printed Drone

by DRONELIFE Staff Writer Ian M. Crosby

Emerging aircraft leader DBT Aero has demonstrated its Double Box Tail (DBT) technology through the successful test flight of a 3D printed Group 1 UAS. This is the company’s third successful subscale demonstrator of their manned prototype, having previously designed and test flown Group 2 and Group 3 scale UAS.

The Group 1 aircraft was developed alongside 3DAeroventures, with the sponsorship of HiTEC, House of Balsa and ZAP Adhesives. It first took flight on September 11, 2022 at the El Paso Radio Controller’s Field.

DBT Aero’s Swyft™ family of modular and scalable drones feature a small amount of integrated parts, making maintenance and manufacturing easier. The company’s insights and technology are ideal for the current demand for sustainable aviation without payload, range or speed compromises. Its technology is compatible with future propulsion technologies such as battery electric, fuel cell electric, hybrid, sustainable aviation fuel, and hydrogen engines.

The company’s Double Box Tail (DBT) configuration provides increased stability and control, resulting in a smoother flight and more accurate data acquisition. The aircraft’s swept wing design is suited to both high speed and slow flight, lowering travel and delivery times and expediting data acquisition.

The combination of aerodynamics with system optimization promises to enable affordable, rapid, and silent flight for Regional Air Mobility (RAM) of passengers and cargo in addition to BVLOS UAS missions. DBT Aero’s technology is made to provide the lowest cost per seat-mile or cost per ton-mile at rapid speeds while maintaining carbon neutral to carbon free status. This technology holds the potential to create new markets and improve existing ones, offering an alternative to traditional transportation modes and UAS missions.

Read more:

Ian attended Dominican University of California, where he received a BA in English in 2019. With a lifelong passion for writing and storytelling and a keen interest in technology, he is now contributing to DroneLife as a staff writer.