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FAA announces test flight with remotely-piloted hybrid-electric cargo aircraft

September 1, 2026 Philip Butterworth-Hayes Cargo and logistics, Research Comments Off on FAA announces test flight with remotely-piloted hybrid-electric cargo aircraft
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced on 31 August that Elroy Air and the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development conducted a hybrid-electric demonstration flight to test cargo deliveries using remotely piloted aircraft at Houma-Terrebonne Airport in Louisiana. This is the first remotely piloted aircraft test flight under the FAA’s eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (eIPP).

Elroy used its Chaparral aircraft, an automated hybrid-electric vertical takeoff and landing (vTOL) system designed to move heavy cargo by air between non-traditional sites.

In March 2026, the US Department of Transportation selected eight projects across 26 states to participate in the eIPP. The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development is one of the eight participants.

“The FAA will use what it learns from these demonstrations to identify gaps, improve procedures, and support the safe integration of advanced air mobility into the National Airspace System,” the agency said in a press release, which also confirmed that the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development and other eIPP participants are planning additional test flights throughout the rest of the year.

For more information

FAA

Image: Elroy Air

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