Chengdu's low-altitude economy has taken another significant step forward, with the official start of construction on the first phase of the Sichuan Tianfu New Area Low-Altitude Intelligent Connectivity System Verification Base. Meanwhile, a 400-kilogram heavy-lift industrial drone developed by a Chengdu-based company recently made its public debut at the Tianfu Agricultural Expo Park. Here's a closer look.

Construction Begins: New Low-Altitude Base

Located west of Section 5 of Dongshan Avenue in Yongxing Subdistrict, the first phase of the Sichuan Tianfu New Area Low-Altitude Intelligent Connectivity System Verification Base enjoys a prime location with strong regional advantages and convenient external transportation. The project is planned around a "Three Centers, Three Platforms" layout, constructing six major functional sections: whole-aircraft flight testing, enterprise R&D testing, scenario verification, science education and research, exhibition and sales, and comprehensive services. The goal is to build a leading low-altitude industry comprehensive integration platform in western China.

The base plans to construct comprehensive exhibition and sales office buildings, training and research facilities, inspection and testing centers, maintenance hangars, a 600-by-25-meter primary low-altitude verification runway, ten multi-type takeoff and landing pads, and aircraft parking aprons. The comprehensive exhibition and sales building will integrate functions such as a low-altitude exhibition hall, operations control center, and observation room, enabling real-time monitoring and unified dispatch of all flight operations across the site. The low-altitude verification runway and landing pads are designed to accommodate eVTOL aircraft and a wide range of drones, meeting testing requirements for takeoff, landing, taxiing, and related airworthiness subjects.

The base adheres to the construction philosophy of "digital empowerment and intelligent connectivity," leveraging its core capability in low-altitude intelligent system verification. It will open its professional flight test sites and supporting testing equipment to the public, using specialized testing and verification to drive iterative upgrades in key areas such as whole aircraft, avionics and flight control, and power systems. This will effectively reduce enterprise R&D and testing costs, pushing low-altitude flight services toward a transformation from "experience-based dispatch" to "data-driven" operations. Once completed, the base will connect the full chain of "flight test verification, exhibition and display, scenario demonstration, enterprise services, and talent cultivation," unleashing industry-driven effects and advancing the low-altitude industry from "single-point breakthroughs" to "cluster momentum."

Taking Off: Another Industrial Drone Unveiled

Recently, at the Tianfu Agricultural Expo Park, Sichuan Jinyu Aviation Technology Co., Ltd. officially unveiled its independently developed 400-kilogram-class heavy-lift industrial drone test aircraft. Last year, Jinyu Aviation achieved landing and production in just 90 days from initial introduction to operations at the Tianfu Agricultural Expo Park. As a benchmark project for the park's "Agriculture + Low-Altitude Industry" model, the company has quickly taken root, focusing on the R&D and real-world testing of industrial-grade heavy-lift drones.

The newly unveiled 400-kilogram-class heavy-lift industrial drone test aircraft targets the pain points of traditional small drones, such as low load capacity and poor stability. It is mainly applied to industrial-grade heavy-load scenarios including agricultural and forestry operations, emergency rescue, infrastructure hoisting, and mountain material transport. According to Yue Changwei, the company's technical director, the test aircraft features a detachable arm design with an expanded operating size of 6,800mm × 6,800mm. The empty aircraft weight (excluding batteries) is only 211 kilograms, equipped with two battery options that can be flexibly switched. Its maximum endurance is 45 minutes with no load, and its ultimate load capacity reaches 450 kilograms. The flight control system supports seamless dual-control switching and offers an optional triple-control mode, making it suitable for high-risk, high-precision large-scale collaborative operations.

The company leverages upstream and downstream resources in the drone industry chain, continuously conducting technological research and system integration upgrades, supporting personalized customization based on actual operating conditions. Heavy-lift industrial drones need to solve not only the question of "how high and how far they can fly," but more importantly, whether they can genuinely replace high-risk manual labor and break through material transport bottlenecks in complex terrain. "Our independently developed 400-kilogram heavy-lift drone is mainly used in agricultural and forestry operations, emergency rescue, and infrastructure hoisting," said Yang Zhiqiang, General Manager of Jinyu Aviation. He noted that the drone fills the industry's gap in heavy payload, high stability, and multi-scenario practicality, making it particularly suitable for the Sichuan region and plateau mountainous areas, with advantages in operational efficiency and flight safety.

In emergency rescue and infrastructure hoisting scenarios, for example, during earthquakes, floods, and other disasters, damaged roads often interrupt material transport. This heavy-lift model can break through ground transportation constraints, precisely delivering emergency supplies to affected areas. In mountain transportation and water conservancy project construction, the transport of tower materials and building supplies has long relied on pack animals or manual labor. This model can achieve single-flight aerial transport of several hundred kilograms of materials, significantly shortening construction timelines and reducing safety risks.

Its high load capacity and stability break through the traditional bottlenecks and pain points of drones, using aerial corridors to overcome terrain barriers. It provides a practical and viable solution for operational needs that previously were "unable to transport, unable to deliver, and unable to patrol." Before the 400-kilogram-class heavy-lift test aircraft was unveiled, low-altitude flight technology had already "flown into everyday life" in the company's daily operations. In March of this year, the Tianfu Agricultural Expo Park introduced a special "aerial food delivery courier"—tourists only need to scan a QR code in the flower fields, and a drone lifts off carrying coffee, delivering it in as little as two minutes. This is the "Drone Coffee" delivery service created by Jinyu Aviation, extending low-altitude flight technology to the cultural tourism consumer end.

Discover more in this news surprise box below.