“Hum Hum Hum!” Accompanied by the roar of rotors turning, a brand new black carbon fiber UAV carrying 100kg weights whistled off the ground and quickly flew towards the sky above.Recently, at a certain aviation flight base in Chengdu, the staff of Chengdu Thunderbird Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Thunderbird), the first industrial UAV enterprise in Dayi, were focused on conducting test flights of the company's new L100 series unmanned aerial vehicle and monitoring flight data in real time. This year, the new L100 series unmanned aerial vehicle produced by the company has been officially launched, marking Dayi's competition for a new low altitude economy track.

New L100 series unmanned aerial vehicle launched

Thunderbird is located in Dayi Economic Development Zone, Sichuan Province. Founded in 2024, it is a company dedicated to the research and development, assembly, production, sales, training, and related services of UAV technology. Its products include different types of UAVs such as 100kg heavy-duty unmanned aerial vehicles, trainer aircraft, crop protection aircraft, and traversing aircraft.

In 2024, after the launch of the company's L100 UAV, it received high praise from customers for its long range, high safety, and excellent performance. Since the beginning of this year, the product has been upgraded, and the new L100 series UAV has been officially launched. Many customers visited the test flight on the same day and placed orders on site.

It is reported that the new L100 series unmanned aerial vehicle has a maximum takeoff weight of 195 kilograms, a maximum load capacity of 100 kilograms, a full load endurance of 19 minutes, a maximum speed of 13.8 meters per second, and a flight distance of 10 kilometers. It can achieve autonomous obstacle avoidance flight and undertake important tasks such as material transportation, emergency rescue, and industrial inspection.

Under the same conditions, the operational efficiency of the new L100 series UAV is 24% higher than that of similar 100kg unmanned drones on the market, and it can operate normally in extreme environments such as level8 winds. This series of drones also adopts a folding design, with a smaller volume and detachable parts, making it convenient for users to carry. At the same time, the main body of the aircraft is also equipped with a parachute, forming a dual security mechanism with intelligent chips, greatly improving the safety performance of flight. Currently, the company sells over 50 units per month.

Following the entry of“low-altitude economy” into the government work report in 2024, this year's'Two Sessions' saw the term written into the government work report once again. As one of the important pillars of the low-altitude economy, the UAV industry has attracted more and more related enterprises across the country to join this market full of potential

Facing the strong east wind of“low-altitude economy”, how can Thunderbird ride on the trend?

From multi-type trainer aircraft customized for training and teaching, to plant protection aircraft for 100 acres of high-efficiency operations, to advanced UAVs such as 100kg large-carrying UAVs and ancillary facilities and services, Thunderbird has built up a productive business model integrating research and development, assembling, sales promotion, technical training and after-sales protection.

It is reported that the company has optimized and renovated the UAV circuit to ensure that it is more concise and clear, making it easier for customers to repair on their own; Actively carry out the upgrade and development of flight control programs, committed to improving the performance of subsequent products in flight balance and target positioning accuracy. At the same time, in order to accelerate technological innovation and industrial upgrading, Thunderbird has recruited technical talents, with research and development personnel accounting for nearly half. It has successfully obtained 4 software copyrights in the development of flight control systems, and 4 more are currently being applied for.

“By 2025, our goal is to achieve a production capacity of 260 units, and our mid-term goal is to reach a production capacity of 600 units by 2027!”Looking ahead to the future, Zhang Jiyun, General Manager of Chengdu Thunderbird Co., Ltd., said that the company will carry out rack mass production business in Dayi, continue to overcome technical difficulties, and deeply cultivate large load series products. At the same time, leveraging the online and offline sales channels of the parent company Chengdu Dahongli Machinery Co., Ltd., we will carry out comprehensive publicity and promotion work to help the"Dayi Manufacturing" drone enter a broader market. (Source: Dayi County Unified Media Center)