DJI Launches FlyCart 30, Its First Ever Delivery Drone—But You Probably Won’t Be Able to Buy It Any Time Soon

Following a recent leak that DJI was working on a delivery drone we now—and quite quickly—have proof, because the drone has already been launched.

Credit: DJI

Er, kind of. Although DJI officially launched the FlyCart 30 it’s not showing up on the company’s website. Not if you’re located in the U.S., anyway.

That’s because DJI’s new big delivery drone is only available in China. This means that if you search for it from the U.S., you’ll find results—but when you click on them, you’ll be redirected to DJI’s homepage.

DJI hasn’t said whether it plans to release the FlyCart 30 in the U.S. or anywhere else.

And given the recent export restrictions that have been put in place in China on civilian drones—restrictions under which the FlyCart 30 would not be allowed to leave the country—it seems unlikely you’ll be able to buy one in the U.S. any time soon.

Here’s a video showcasing the FlyCart 30:*

*Unfortunately the quality isn’t that great in this video. This version of the video has better quality, but no subtitles.

Specs & Details about the FlyCart 30

The FlyCart 30 is an impressive machine. It’s a heavy-lift drone that can carry up to 66 pounds (30 kilograms) on a dual battery or a whopping 88 pounds on a single battery (40 kilograms). And it can fly up to 10 miles when fully loaded, and 17 miles when empty.

To take on delivery loads, it has both a container system and a crane system. The easiest method to use is the container system, but it does require that you be able to actually land the drone at the delivery’s destination.

For deliveries where landing isn’t possible, the crane can be used to lower the package while the drone hovers in the air. The cable is 65 feet (20 meters) long, and the crane system can automatically release the package once it’s on the ground.

Credit: DJI

As far as price goes, the FlyCart 30 is selling for $17,000. With that price you get the drone itself as well as the RC Plus remote controller, two Intelligent Flight Batteries, and a charging hub and cable.

Here are the key specs for the FlyCart 30:

• Max payload. 88 pounds (40 kg) with a single battery or 66 pounds (30 kg) with two batteries.
• Max range. 17 miles (28 km) with no load or 10 miles (16 km) with a full load.
• Max speed. 45 mph (20 m/s) is max speed and 33.5 mph (15 m/s) is max cruising speed.
• Max flight altitude. 3.7 miles (6,000 meters).
• IP level. IP55, providing limited protection from dust and low-pressure water jets from any direction.
• Camera. (Yes, it does have a camera!)
• Image transmission. Using O3, images can be transmitted from full HD at up to 12.4 miles (20 km). It’s also 4G capable for transmission, and has technology for addressing potential signal blocking to maintain transmission.
• Batteries. A dual battery system provides redundancy, making the platform more robust and resilient.

How Safe Is the FlyCart 30?

When you think about a drone carrying 70 pounds or more through the air, safety is one of the first things that comes to mind. What happens if the drone suddenly fails, and falls from the sky?

DJI has equipped the FlyCart 30 with a parachute for situations like that (watch the dubbed video above to see it in action). In addition to the parachute, there are several other safety features DJI has put on the FlyCart 30 to try and account for possible failures.

Credit: DJI

Here’s the top safety features you’ll find on the FlyCart 30.

The Parachute

The parachute that comes with the FlyCart 30 is built into the drone. And it’s made with safeguards to protect it from failing (because what’s the point in having a safety backup if it also fails when the drone fails?).

Included in those safeguards is a power-on self-check, alarms for sound and light, and an independent supply power so that even if the drone loses power, the parachute doesn’t.

Obstacle Avoidance

The FlyCart 30 has multi-directional obstacle avoidance technology, allowing it to sense obstacles and reroute to avoid them. The technology supporting this is a rotating active phased array radar system, as well as two sets of binocular vision systems.

In addition to these systems, the FlyCart 30 has an ADS-B signal receiver, which is standard on all DJI drones that weigh over 250 grams.

Backups

In the event of an emergency, the FlyCart 30 can be programmed to land in different places aside from the original destination, allowing it to respond quickly to a sudden failure.

Battery Redundancy

The FlyCart 30 has a dual battery system, allowing it to revert to the second battery if the first one fails. Redundancies like these are important safeguards to protect against failure, but they do come with a weight tradeoff, since the extra battery cuts the drone’s carrying capacity from 88 pounds to 66 pounds.

Landing Safeguards

The FlyCart 30 has several safety features for takeoff and landing, including a 6-second delay for prop launch and sound and light prompts to alert those nearby.

Battery and Status Tracking on DJI Pilot 2

Credit: DJI

FlyCart 30 pilots can use DJI Pilot 2 to track the status of the drone’s progress in real time as well as tracking the drone’s remaining battery life, and other key data points like remaining time to destination and how far the drone has already flown. When there is extreme weather, DJI Pilot 2 will issue warnings and identify alternate flight paths to avoid it or alternate places to land.