Skyfront
Battle-Tested and Mission Capable Drones

A decade ago, mapping and surveying missions required operators to perform multiple flights over multiple days due to the limited endurance of drones. Considering that these missions were held in remote areas, operators found it extremely frustrating and cumbersome to repeatedly transport, charge, and switch batteries—to the extent that they’d prefer a manned aircraft over the drone regardless of the added expense.

“We founded Skyfront to solve the flight time limitation and unlock the true economic potential of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs),” says Troy Mestler, the CEO of Skyfront. He continues, “The future consists of unmanned drones routinely flying over the horizon, performing tasks without human observation. These vehicles range in size and shape. What they have in common is that they are safe, autonomous, and hybrid-electric. At Skyfront, we are constantly working to make that vision a reality.”

At its core, Skyfront develops drones that have the same range, endurance, and capabilities as a manned helicopter. What makes the company stands out in the UAV industry is its fuel-injected engines that provide unprecedented reliability. Built for rigorous flying, Skyfront’s drones offer a large payload capacity. They can carry high-end cameras that provide greater zoom and contrast even in low light, making long-range infrastructure inspection, surveillance, and search and rescue (SAR) missions easier. These UAVs are also designed and equipped for beyond-visual-line-of-sight missions, including video, telemetry, and control links up to 60 miles away from the ground control station.

Skyfront’s first and flagship product, the Tailwind, is a long-endurance hybrid gasoline-electric drone that has the capabilities of a manned helicopter but is one-hundredth of the cost.

We founded Skyfront to solve the flight time limitation and unlock the true economic potential of unmanned aerial vehicles

In fact, the Tailwind UAV flew for a total of 4 hours and 34 minutes, which is ten times longer than typical battery-powered drones. Driven by its success, the company introduced two other revolutionary drones to the market— Perimeter 8 and Perimeter 4. Being the safest and longest endurance hybrid multirotor, Perimeter 8 UAV features an impressive 5.5 kg payload capacity with 1 hour of endurance. On the other hand, Perimeter 4—being a savior in inspection and surveillance missions—has the endurance of more than 5 hours without payload. It is designed to operate for extreme periods and over long ranges. It is important to note that the company’s UAVs hold a world record for being the longest endurance multirotor drones within industries like agriculture, energy, and utilities.

Aside from the fact that Skyfront’s products are in every way unique, what makes the company successful is its team, their dedication, and the endless list of services they offer to complement their drones. The company’s engineers have spent thousands of hours integrating features to improve the usability, safety, and reliability of aerial vehicles, including electronic fuel injection, auto-start, and fully integrated engine controls. Moreover, to meet customer’s demand, they provide customization services like long-range encrypted communications and video transmission, camera and gimbal control, payload mounts, communication and messaging protocols, and a lot more.

“Building an unmanned aerial system is extremely difficult. Aircraft designs must simultaneously satisfy competing constraints in weight, efficiency, and safety. Engineers are required to be experts in not just one discipline, but all of them. Each member of the Skyfront team has years of experience building systems from the ground up. We modify our aircraft to perform the exact mission our clients want,” concludes Mestler.