Initially for its offshore logistics operations, Zeitfracht Group has ordered 17 unmanned aerial delivery vehicles from Wingcopter. The delivery drones will fly parts from Rostock Airport to sites such as wind farms and gas fields.

The 17 Wingcopter 198 delivery drones will be in operation from 2024, and have been chosen thanks to their large payload to range ratio. The aircraft are capable of taking loads of up to 5kg over distances of 75-110km. They take off and land vertically, ensuring accuracy of landing – important where it comes to landing on ships at sea. Once in the air they fly forwards like winged aircraft, ensuring efficiency.

Zeitfracht Group have an option to order another 115 Wingcopter aircraft until 2023 as part of the arrangement. Zeitfracht CEO Wolfram Simon-Schröter said, “At the Zeitfracht Group, we are very creative and always interested in using new technologies in a market-leading way. We believe the time is now ripe for the commercial use of drones, for example for the delivery of spare parts to offshore wind farms. With German Airways, our Rostock Airport and the experience of our shipping company OPUS in delivery operations on the high seas, together with Wingcopter we have the ideal prerequisites to drive this technology a huge step forward.”

Tom Plümmer, co-founder and CEO of Wingcopter, said, “We are very pleased to have won Zeitfracht as a partner with extraordinary experience in the logistics and aviation sector. With the planned supply flights to ships and offshore wind farms, we will tap into a new, fast-growing field of application for which the Wingcopter 198 is ideally suited thanks to its high efficiency, even in extreme weather conditions. In addition, the test site and the close cooperation offer the opportunity to jointly develop further promising business areas.”