Chaparral C1

The Chaparral C1 is a hybrid-electric VTOL cargo drone developed by Elroy Air (San Francisco, CA, founded 2016) designed for autonomous middle-mile logistics. It features a high-wing configuration with 12 electric motors (8 VTOL, 4 forward-flight), carries 300–500 lbs of cargo up to ~300 miles, and has demonstrated autonomous transition flights at 70 mph and a first A-to-B cargo delivery of 213 lbs in December 2025. The system is in pre-production prototype stage (C-1), with manufacturing partnerships established with Kratos (U.S.) and Barq Group (Abu Dhabi), and has been selected for the USDOT eVTOL Integration Pilot Program with operations targeted for 2026. Note: several extracted facts (SLAM LiDAR scanner, robotic pool cleaner, ultrasonic cutter) appear to be from unrelated products and are excluded from this synthesis as they do not pertain to the Chaparral C1.