Our Mission to Bring Same-Day Delivery to Every Person on the Planet

Elroy Air
2 min readDec 16, 2021

As we approach the end of 2021, we wanted to reiterate what Elroy Air is all about — why the company exists, who we are, what we’re building, and how we believe we can be a positive part of the future.

Today, more than 1 billion people live in communities outside the reach of reliable roadways. In other places, traffic congestion is continuing to grow at an alarming rate. Logistics is the lifeblood of civilization. Flows of consumer goods, medical supplies, machine parts and tools are all critical to modern life and industry — we believe that access to them should be immediate. Rapid logistics raises the quality of life and productivity for the people and communities that it serves.

Our team of experts in autonomous systems and software architectures, aerospace engineering, robotics, design, shipping logistics, supply chain and manufacturing are working to solve these problems with autonomous flying cargo aircraft that don’t depend on ground infrastructure.

At Elroy Air, we are building the Chaparral, a hybrid-electric aircraft capable of carrying 300+ lbs of cargo over 300 miles without the need for airports. The Chaparral’s vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) capabilities mean that every loading dock, every parking lot, and every flat surface is a potential pickup and delivery location.

Our cargo containers — “pods” — are separate from the aircraft. Once a cargo pod is packed, it is positioned outside for pickup. The Chaparral vehicle taxis over the pod, picks up the cargo, then takes off vertically. The vehicle transitions from vertical to wing-based forward flight and recharges its onboard battery en route to the destination. When the Chaparral arrives, the system will deliver the pod and can pick up another for the return flight.

The Chaparral enables safe, efficient aerial cargo transport for commercial, defense and humanitarian operations — all at a cost lower than traditional rotorcraft and fixed-wing aircraft, at no risk to pilots — and without reliance on airport infrastructure.

We believe that extending the reach of express logistics will improve quality of life around the world. The Chaparral will connect the dots between people, places, and goods in ways that were not possible before — delivering rapidly to warehouses, hospitals, and communities in need around the world. This is a rare moment where technology can leapfrog today’s infrastructure challenges.

If you’re excited about this future, join us in our mission to enable same-day delivery to every person on the planet! Please check out our open roles at elroyair.com/careers.

A snapshot of the Elroy Air team from earlier this year. We’re hiring!

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Elroy Air

Our mission at Elroy Air is to enable same-day shipping to every person on the planet.