Natilus has been awarded a US patent for its diamond-shaped cargo bay design to be incorporated in its 3.8-ton Kona optionally autonomous feeder cargo aircraft.
The California-based aerospace manufacturer said in a LinkedIn post on 9 July that the patent design enables 2.5 times “more cargo volume than conventional fuselage designs”.
The Kona is designed to transport high-value, time-sensitive freight, on routes underserved by trucking.
Designed to operate on gravel and unpaved runways, the Kona has a wingspan of 85 ft and can operate on unpaved runways as short as 800 m.
The Kona's design reduces fuel consumption by 30% compared to conventional aircraft and delivers a range of 900 nautical miles, according to Natilus.
Flight testing for the Kona subscale prototype began in 2023.
In addition to the Kona UAV, Natilus is also developing Horizon, a 200-seat passenger plane that rivals Boeing's 737. Previously, Natilus had also planned to develop Alisio - a 60-ton payload medium/long range cargo aircraft, and Nordes - a 100-ton payload long-range cargo aircraft.
Natilus currently has more than $6.8bn in order commitments, and 460+ aircraft in pre-orders, from companies including Ameriflight, Volatus Aerospace, Flexport, Astral, Aurora International, and Dymond.
Most recently, in February, Canadian charter airline Nolinor Aviation struck a deal with Natilus for multiple Kona aircraft.
