European VTOL Drone Firm Wingtra Looks to Enter US Market

Wingtra is the latest European drone firm seeking a foothold in the US market. Based in Zurich, Wingtra manufactures a VTOL drone, the WIntraOne. They market it as a UAV that combines “​the ​​benefits ​​of ​​agile ​​multirotors ​​[with] the ​​high ​​endurance of ​​fixed​-wing ​aircrafts.”

After​ being released earlier this year, the WingtraOne is now spreading looking to go international with the US and China as the first landing grounds. “We are proud to say that our users come from areas as diverse as surveying, precision farming, glacier monitoring and wildlife monitoring,” says Basil Weibel, CEO Wingtra. In a release the company states that, “Within few months, the startup has already amassed swift popularity and a loyal ​customer​ ​base ​​world wide​.”

Wingtra seeks to differentiate itself with functionality that combines the ease of take off and landing of a multirotor UAV with the flight time and range of a fixed wing drone. They are not alone in this. Aerovironment is among those manufacturing a VTOL drone.

The WingtraOne​: Multirotor Take Off Married to Fix Wing Flight

This gap between usability and high range is what WingtraOne is bridging. It is designed as a tailsitter drone that takes off and lands vertically (VTOL) like a multirotor, but flies like a fixed-wing airplane in air. This efficiency in flight gives it a flight time of up to 55 minutes covering anywhere between 280 and 400 hectares at 3cm/px GSD depending on the specific sensor – the same area as 570 football fields.

This ease of use is greatly amplified by its flight planning software, WingtraPilot. The process of planning a survey takes roughly 5 minutes. Then, with the press of a button, the WingtraOne takes off, collects aerial imagery, and lands — all fully autonomously. The user, thus, does not have to worry
about​needing​​any​​pilot​​training​.

With its high payload capacities, the WingtraOne offers a variety of high end sensors to generate high resolution imagery for orthophotos, 3D reconstructions, cloud points and NDVI maps. Wingtra’s selection include the 42 megapixel full-frame Sony RX1RII. Thanks to the vertical landing, the cameras are ​well​-protected ​and ​​are​ ​never ​​at ​​a ​​risk​ ​of ​​damage​ ​by ​​belly ​​landings​.

Find WingtraOne ​at​ ​InterGeo​​ 2017​

With this array of wide-ranging benefits, Wingtra is keen on demonstrating the WingtraOne’s capabilities at InterGeo 2017 – which has long been a favorite in the geospatial community. InterGeo 2017 will be held in Berlin from 26-28 September. Interested users can take a look at the WingtraOne. And ​​have ​​a ​​look ​​at here.​