Skylift in the UK: Zipline in the USA

Dean Sigler Announcements, Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

Skylift Skylift is an all-British drone system supplier being used by the National Health Service (NHS) to deliver prescription medications in the UK in partnership with Apian.  Jessica Reed, reporting in Aviation Today, explains one of Skylift’s unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) capabilities demonstrated its ability to fly medical supplies between Portsmouth on England’s southern coast and the Isle of Wight. According to Distansias.com, “The straight line flying distance from Ryde [on the] Isle of Wight [is] 6.62 miles or 10.66 kilometers.”  This can take an hour or so by boat, but only minutes by drone, especially a fast one like those used by Skylift, which apparently designs and builds the machines with specific missions in mind.  Skylift has partnered with Apian, “a medical drone startup,” and delivered the first drone delivery of prescription pharmaceuticals in the UK with Boots, a drug store chain. In the near future Skylift drones will deliver chemotherapy drugs from …