The Windracers monthly column brought to you in June by Stephen Krajewski, Marketing Director at Windracers.
I joined the company just over two years ago and I am quite upfront in admitting that I had no aviation or drone background prior to starting at Windracers. In fact, I hadn’t really thought about drones or aviation much at all outside of getting on a plane for business travel or family holidays.
On my second day of the job, I found myself on a sunny, windy airfield in Cornwall watching Windracers ULTRA in flight, proving the use of SWARM technology and AI-enabled imaging as an early warning system for firefighting. While I failed to bring the sunblock (a rookie mistake), it was awe-inspiring to see the platform in action.
As important as it was to see ULTRA flying, I have come to understand that the biggest rush I get from my job is actually displaying Windracers ULTRA at shows like Eurosatory, Farnborough International Airshow, and at the start of my time here, The Goodwood Festival of Speed in June 2024 – the first time we displayed at a major event.
What is it that produces the ‘dopamine hit’? First and foremost, it’s the simple act of telling people (grizzled aviation, defence and air cargo specialists included) that the 10-meter wing-span aircraft that they’ve been quizzically looking at for the past two minutes is actually a drone. It’s never not rewarding to let people know this. I then try to take them from “Where does the pilot sit?” to an understanding of the hangar-to-hangar autonomy created by Windracers engineers.
Secondly, having them walk around the aircraft breeds an alternate experience that so many seem to marvel at. It’s a small aircraft but a very big drone, which in turn enables me to explain the class of ULTRA, namely, an ultra heavy-lift drone and what that means. ULTRA carries over 150 kg and that is truly a unique capability especially when combined with it’s range – 2,000 km (1,200 miles) – and 15 hours of endurance. But it’s what these capabilities enable – the missions of our customers like NORCE, UK MOD, University of Alaska Fairbanks and the British Antarctic Survey – that are the most important elements in the ULTRA story.
Finally, after walking someone around the aircraft, the tour ends at the cargo hold where, thanks to our resourceful manufacturing team, they see ULTRA’s core use cases – deliver, drop, detect – illustrated in a cargo floor that combines all three. Opening the cargo bay door is a reveal that almost always elicits “Right… so that’s where the payload goes”.
So, as you can probably tell, two years of exhibiting has not quelled my enthusiasm for introducing people to Windracers ULTRA. And there is more opportunity to do so: Windracers will be at the Farnborough International Airshow in July 2026 and for the first time we will be inside, in Hall 4 with the fully-rigged aircraft.
I hope that if you are attending the show, you’ll stop by the Windracers stand – I’d be very happy to give you the tour.
