Spright buys 40 Dufour Aerospace Aero2s

Spright, the drone division of emergency medical helicopter operator Air Methods, is buying 40 Aero2s from Dufour Aerospace with the option for 100 more.

The sales agreement for up to 140 aircraft is the largest commitment by an operator to date for the Aero2 design, said Dufour.

The Aero2 will be able to transport heavier payloads over longer distances. This means more patient samples, larger tissue specimens and organs, and heavier supplies and equipment. 

Spright president, Joseph Resnik, said: “With today’s announcement, we demonstrate our commitment to their vision and to their technological approach, in which we are proud to be the first operator in the US. This is a multi-year and multimillion-dollar commitment by Spright and it will enable us to serve the critical goods distribution markets efficiently.”

Spright will also help Dufour to obtain type certification for the Aero2, including technical, data, and flight activity support for demonstration purposes. Spright will also be the exclusive Aero2 service, maintenance, and training partner in North America.

Dufour has two designs: the Aero2 is designed for unmanned, remotely piloted operations and the Aero3, a manned, eight-seat aircraft is being designed for air ambulance and HEMS operations. Flight testing of the Aero2 is currently underway in Zurich, Switzerland.

Thomas Pfammatter, CEO, Dufour Aerospace, said: “Our partnership, which extends far beyond unit sales of Aero2, is a significant milestone for us in our development of tilt-wing, unmanned and manned products for advanced air mobility. Spright’s commitment shows that there is great market potential for Aero2 for safe and efficient medium and long-range operations with unmanned aerial vehicles.”

Terms of the purchase, development, and service agreement between the parties are not disclosed.