Event 38 announces the release of the E400

(Richfield, Ohio) – Event 38 Unmanned Systems, a leading manufacturer of  American-made mapping drones, announces the release of the E400, a fixed-wing mapping  drone with vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) functionality and a payload capacity of three  pounds. The E400 is designed and manufactured in America. 

The E400 is an extremely high-performance drone, with an industry-leading flight time of ninety  minutes. This extra flight time translates to greater range and extra margin, so operators can  gather more data in a single mission. Additionally, the E400 is much more stable at altitude and  in windy conditions, making it more durable and versatile than a multirotor drone. 

The E400 incorporates one of the premium features of a multirotor drone: Vertical take-off and landing (VTOL). The E400 can take off or land anywhere at the touch of a button, eliminating  the need for specialty launch or recovery equipment. 

“We’ve been making fixed-wing drones for over a decade, but the E400 is our first fixed-wing  drone with VTOL capabilities. We’re extremely proud to offer this feature,” said Jeff Taylor,  founder & CEO of Event38. “At Event 38, we’re always looking for ways to make our drones  more useful and accessible. Adding VTOL functionality improved the user friendliness of the  E400 by leaps and bounds.”

Event 38 began exploring VTOL functionality for fixed-wing drones in 2019 during a partnership  with the Air Force’s Rapid Sustainment Office (RSO). Taylor and his team ran trials with the Air  National Guard on a military-grade, carbon fiber, fixed-wing VTOL aircraft, which is now  commercially available as the E400. 

Another user-friendly feature of the E400 is the plane’s hot-swap payload bay. The E400’s  payload can be changed in under a minute without specialty tools or skills, minimizing down  time between missions. Customers can choose from a variety of specialty cameras and other  advanced sensors, including high-resolution aerial photogrammetry, thermal and multispectral  imagery, LiDAR, and live video streaming. The E400’s payload pay has an open interface, so  customers can integrate virtually any camera or sensor with Event 38’s open-source autopilot  software. 

Event 38 is now accepting orders for the E400 fixed-wing mapping drone. Each E400 is  manufactured at Event 38’s headquarters in Richfield, Ohio. 

“The E400 is the only drone of its kind that’s made on American soil,” said Taylor. “This drone is  the culmination of everything we’ve learned over the past ten years and the advancements we  made in partnership with the military, and we’re incredibly proud to bring the E400 to market.” 

For more information about the E400 and Event 38 Unmanned Systems, please visit www.event38.com.