Pioneering drones for your critical missions: The new Dufour brand slogan

Pioneering drones for your critical missions. It’s the new brand slogan for Dufour. Allow us to explain.  

First, we see ourselves as pioneers. We began our journey in 2017 with the vision of our co-founders, who bring real-world expertise from various professional aviation backgrounds to this space. Thousands of flight hours in all manner of conditions with helicopters and airplanes have informed our thinking on aircraft design, and the design itself. We began by creating the first all-electric aerobatic airplane and quickly followed that up with the first prototypes of Aero2.  The product we have designed today is significantly different than the original Aero2, in materials, weight, range, and sophistication. We are pioneers, and we are proud of that moniker.

Our product is also pioneering. We were not the first company to consider a tilt-wing design, but we are adding modern control technology and hybrid-electric propulsion, creating a product that takes off like a helicopter and flies like a plane. Many studies have been performed on the various concepts for eVTOL, be it the benefits of lift and push, ductless fans, tilt-rotors, and tilt-wings among others. We are convinced that our design is simply the most aerodynamically sound and efficient option — and we were very pleased when Sikorsky Helicopter validated the concept with their design earlier this year. The pioneering element of our product extends beyond aerodynamics. Consider that the wing structure of our Aero2 drone weighs only 15 kilograms. It’s a featherweight, and that comes through pioneering design. 

Then there is the word drone. We see strong customer demand for our first product, the Aero2, a tilt-wing hybrid-electric, fully automated drone with a 40-kilogram payload and a 400-kilometer range (or even more range with less payload). It is uncrewed. It’s not a toy drone and you can’t buy it online. Ours is a highly sophisticated and designed marvel of engineering. It takes off like a helicopter, and cruises like an airplane, providing the best of both worlds. We are leaning toward the word drone — for simplicity's sake. 

Then, there is the next element: the word “Your”. That refers to the end-user of the drone, our customers. We thought it was important to signify that while we are an aerospace startup, we are focused on our customers and their missions. We are a designer and a manufacturer, creating a product that will be owned and operated by…operators. It will pass out of our hands in Switzerland, and into their hands. We will be there every step of the way to support. 

Finally, the word critical. We know that every customer operating their drone will fly missions that are critical to them. Whether it’s a small part desperately needed at an off-shore oil rig, transporting blood samples for medical testing, or surveying the Swiss Alps, these missions are critical to the operators. And, they could be life-changing for anyone that needs the cargo the Aero2 will carry. We want our design to play our part in those critical journeys — and we’re designing and building the product to match, based on our real-world experience. 

That’s why when you think of Dufour: think of Pioneering Drones for Your Critical Missions.