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THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC has frozen much of the world’s aviation system, grounding fleets, shredding balance sheets, and stopping production lines as passenger demand craters. But in Ghana, a new fleet of aircraft took flight on Friday in an effort to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus. These small drones, operated by US startup Zipline, are transporting coronavirus test samples from more than 1,000 health facilities to laboratories in the cities of Accra and Kumasi. And, CEO Keller Rinaudo says, Zipline aims to launch a similar program in North Carolina in coming weeks.
The pandemic has pushed many companies out of their comfort zones—automakers are producing ventilators, and passenger flights are hauling cargo. In this case, Rinaudo says, Zipline’s strengths are suited to the crisis. Its service, first used to deliver blood for transfusions in Rwanda in 2016, requires limited infrastructure and minimal human contact. “It’s very obvious why deliveries not using humans are suddenly really, really important,” he says.
Instead of a runway, Zipline launches its drones from a catapult at one of its four distribution centers, which span the country from the border with Burkina Faso in the north to the Atlantic Ocean some 400 miles to the south. Each center includes a couple of shipping containers for operations, assembly, repairs, and storage. Before takeoff, an operator loads a payload weighing up to 4 pounds into the belly of the plane-shaped aircraft, along with a fresh battery pack.
Once airborne, the drone, made of expanded foam and with an 11-foot wingspan, can cruise at about 60 mph and cover 100 miles. When it reaches its destination, it descends to about 40 feet and ejects its package, which floats to the ground tied to a paper parachute, aiming for a landing zone the size of two parking spots. Then it returns to base and touches down by catching the small hook on its tail onto a nylon cord strung between two A-frames, winding up like a bungee jumper at the end of his rope.
