Unmanned Cargo Aircraft (UCA) can be both cheaper to operate and more productive than manned cargo aircraft. Cheaper because less personnel is required; one controller on the ground can handle a number of UCA and on long flights there is no need for an extra crew. Furthermore, a UCA can be built more cheaply than a manned aircraft (there is no need for a pressurized cabin etc.). Higher productivity is possible because, for example, the need to return crews to their operating base at the end of their working day is absent.
The advantages of UCA
The advantages of UCA manifest themselves in particular with small planes (where, for example, crew salary expenses constitute a relative large percentage of operating cost). This means that UCA potentially do not merely compete with existing air transport assets, but can also open new markets. Worldwide there are still many areas that are deprived of high-quality transport because demand is uneconomically low or because geographical barriers limit the efficiency of ground infrastructure. For example: small companies in the Chinese hinterland can sell their goods via Internet to customers in Europe and transport them through small local airports.
Thursday 26 May
On Thursday, 26 May, the annual Global Unmanned Cargo Conference will take place at the Twente Safety Campus in Enschede. The following speakers will share their view on this developing new market.
Hans Heerkens, Chairman Platform Unmanned Cargo Aircraft about “introduction and overview of the Unmanned Cargo Aircraft market”
Katrin Smolka, Academic Lecturer and Researcher, Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University / Kühne Logistics University, about “UCA Business Models: Current Reality and Future Opportunities”
Loïc Poullain, Attorney, Bird & Bird, about “Legal issues regarding cargo operations with unmanned aircrafts”
Irna van der Molen, Coordinator, Centre for Risk Management, Safety and Security, University of Twente / UT liaison, Twente Safety & Security, about “Drones and the Search for Responsible Innovation”
Robert Vergnes, Chairman, Neva Aerospace, about “Local and Regional B2B UAC services”
Annette Temme, Scientist, Project lead “Unmanned Freight Operations”, German Aerospace Center (DLR), about “Unmanned Freight Operations”
Paolo Salvetti, Vice President Strategy and Sales Advanced Systems & UAV, Avio Aeroa, about “The Propulsion System powering the future Unmanned Cargo Aircraft: conventional vs. breakthrough”
Jacques Bernard, Consultant, LOR’AERO Consulting, about “Voliris Flying Container Project: a new kind of infrastructure using a hybrid airship”
Maurice Taks, co-founder, WFS Pro about “It is all about Human Capital”
Mark Cox, Consultant knowledge Valorisation, Eindhoven University of Technology Innovation Lab about “Unmanned Cargo Aircraft applications for Health Care”
For more information about the program and the conference, go to http://www.ucaconference.com/program/. Go to http://www.ucaconference.com/register/ for registration.
