The DJI FlyCart 30 launched in China last summer. And finally, the DJI delivery drone is available to customers potentially worldwide.
The Chinese-based drone maker announced on Jan. 10 that the drone would now go on sale to the global market. But with the announcement came just as many questions as answers. It’s unclear how much the DJI delivery drone will cost. It’s also unclear which exact countries it’ll be available in.
Products are subject to all sorts of regulatory approvals by country, and of course drones are no exception. It’ll be intriguing to see which countries allow DJI’s massive deliver drone to fly — and it’s definitely not a guarantee that the U.S. will be one of them.
As far as cost, we do have a clue. When the drone went on sale last August in China, it was sold in a package for about $17,000. That included the drone itself, as well as the RC Plus remote controller, two Intelligent Flight Batteries, and a charging hub and cables.
But DJI is certainly hoping customers worldwide jump on it.
“We are optimistic that FlyCart 30 will become a trusted solution for aerial delivery, solving complex terrain and terminal transportation problems efficiently, economically, and most importantly, safely from the air,” said Christina Zhang, Senior Director of Corporate Strategy at DJI.
What to know about the DJI delivery drone
We broke down the DJI FlyCart 30 delivery drone when it debuted in August 2023, but we’ll save you a click and share some key details about the DJI delivery drone on this same page.
- Payload capacity: The DI delivery drone can carry cargo weighing up to 30kg (66lbs).
- Max travel distance: This can fly up to 16km (10 miles).
- Weather resistance: FC30 is designed for all weather and terrains. It has IP55 protection, can operate in temperatures ranging from -4° to 122° F. It can fly in winds up to 12 m/s.
- Safety features: There are a few here. Some highlights include:
- Dual active phased array radar and binocular vision systems, which enable all-weather multidirectional intelligent obstacle sensing, day or night.
- A built-in ADS-B signal receiver, to warn of nearby crewed aircraft.
- A built-in parachute
Other key features of this DJI delivery drone include:
- Coaxial four-axis, eight-blade, multi-rotor configuration
- Carbon fiber propellers
- 20 m/s maximum flight speed
- DJI O3 transmission
- Dual Operator mod
DJI DeliveryHub and other flight management software
Along with the drone, DJI also offers corresponding software called DJI DeliveryHub. Considered a one-stop air delivery management platform, it’s designed to make the lives easier for folks conducting the actual deliveries through more efficient operation planning, operation status monitoring, centralized team resource management, and data collection and analysis.
The actual drone piloting is done through DJI Pilot 2, should you opt for manual flight. That software displays all sorts of information including real-time flight status and cargo status. In instances of extreme weather or other abnormalities, DJI Pilot 2 serves as your first alert system (and can help find you a safer place to land).
What are the other delivery drones?
The biggest players in drone delivery like Wing and Zipline use their own, in-house custom delivery drones. With Zipline, thats called the Platform 2 system, which is a drone plus a secondary Zipline droid in a loader. Google-sister company Wing builds a custom drone designed to work with its Autoloader, which makes it easy to latch packages to the company’s eVTOL style drones. Neither of those two company’s drones are for sale to the general public.
That said, there are options for off-the-shelf drones from other companies beyond DJI. One of the biggest names in A2Z Drone Delivery, an American drone company that recently expanded with new headquarters near Los Angeles, California. Their products include a long-range RDSX Pelican hybrid VTOL delivery drone, as well as the recently-released medium range RDST Longtail integrated delivery drone.
Delivery drones are still very much a hot topic. Walmart used a huge chunk of the airtime during its CES 2024 keynote to gush about its drone delivery efforts — which are being done in partnership with both Zipline and Wing. Walmart can reach roughly 60,000 homes in the Dallas – Fort Worth area by drone delivery at present. But just this week, it shared ambitious plans to expand service to millions of customers in 2024 — all summing up to a goal to serve 75% of the region’s population.
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