On the tarmac of Le Havre airport, a French startup has been testing a unique aircraft. With a wingspan of eight meters, a textile wing filled with ambient air, and the ambition to transport payloads for 300 kilometers non-stop. Celeste Ecoflyers, based in Sainte-Menehould in the Marne, has conducted its first ground tests of the dAS10 in recent weeks: activating the avionics, taxiing at progressive speeds, and a short test flight. The full first flight is yet to come, but the results so far confirm the company’s initial hypotheses.
The dAS10’s principle is based on a simple yet challenging engineering bet. A rigid composite wing is precise and aerodynamically efficient, but heavy. Increasing its surface to improve endurance adds weight, offsetting the expected benefit. Celeste Ecoflyers substitutes this with an inflated textile envelope at ambient pressure: the rigidity comes from the interior air, the lifting surface from the fabric, resulting in a much lighter weight compared to an equivalent composite material wing. The aircraft flies slower, consumes less energy per kilogram transported, and its wing can be folded for transport or repaired with a patch in case of damage.
The initial test results are promising. The prototype took off with a maximum takeoff weight of 75 kg, with an empty weight of around 52 kg. “This already validates more than 20 kg of payload,” says Olivier Manette, CEO of Celeste Ecoflyers, also noting a short takeoff capability achieved in about five meters. “No operational payload has been carried at this stage: the tests are based on test loads to characterize the aircraft’s behavior before moving on to operational configurations.
The primary commercial target is long-distance freight logistics, with potential applications in infrastructure inspection and communication relay. Celeste Ecoflyers specifies six hours of battery autonomy and a range of 300 kilometers on the technical sheet. Solar panels cover the upper surface of the wing, taking advantage of the aircraft’s slow and nearly horizontal cruise to capture more energy than a conventional drone could.
The company does not hide the inherent constraints of the concept: reduced flight envelope, sensitivity to weather conditions, and less favorable aerodynamic performance than an optimized rigid wing. These are the compromise terms that Celeste offers to its future customers: accepting slowness and dependence on meteorological conditions in exchange for a lower operational cost per ton-kilometer structurally.
On the defense side, exploratory discussions have taken place with several institutional actors, but no formal partnership has been established at this stage. “Many are waiting to see experimental validations progress before moving forward,” acknowledges the entrepreneur, adding that this caution seems “understandable in a sector where many announcements remain largely theoretical.” Celeste Ecoflyers has chosen a step-by-step approach based on real test results rather than projections, positioning itself as a differentiator in the industrial drone industry.
Photo © Celeste Ecoflyers
