Zipline, UAV Turbines Join As Associate Members

The General Aviation Manufacturers Association announced 2 more additions to the fold, welcoming UAV Turbines and Zipline as Associate Members. 

Zipline has made headlines in recent months with their efforts in automating small parcel delivery with the use of a multirotor, fixed wing drone. Their headquarters lay in San Francisco, California, with small-scale operations started in select markets to test their services. Zipline has been collecting corporate partners left and right, from Intermountain Health to Walmart as it fields its fully automated flight systems. This year, the company made its way onto "2022's World's Most Innovative Companies" for their work on logistics. This year is expected to see additional headway in their partnership with Toyota in Japan, as well as small pilot programs delivering medications to outlying patients with Cardinal Health and Magellan Rx Management. 

UAV Turbines of Miami, Florida, founded in 2014 around the same time as Zipline, focuses on the research, design, and development of micro-turbines for use in small UAV systems. Their use envelope quickly expanded into portable ground applications, and an ever-expanding portfolio of unmanned systems requiring high thrust output with light weight. Their Monarch product line has made a name for itself as a reliable system, able to run on less-volatile heavy fuels from natural gas to jet A. The turboshaft engine is slated for conversion to more sustainable fuels in the near future, from sustainable aviation fuel to hydrogen, once available. 

FMI: www.gama.aero