Wingtra announced WingtraRAY in July 2025 as the successor to WingtraOne GEN II, and the company began a global rollout that October. It’s a tailsitter VTOL survey drone built around a hot-swap payload bay, an optional parachute add-on that earned FAA Category 3 approval for operations over people in December 2025, and a plan-capture-process workflow tied into WingtraCLOUD. The pitch is speed and coverage: up to 550 ha (1,360 acres) in a single flight of just under an hour.
WingtraRAY specifications
| Spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Drone type | Tailsitter VTOL, fixed-wing cruise |
| Max take-off weight | 5.2 kg (11.5 lb) |
| Payload capacity | 1,250 g (2.75 lb) |
| Wingspan / dimensions | 125 cm span; 125 x 68 x 12 cm stowed |
| Flight time | Up to 59 minutes with RGB/multispectral payloads; 45 minutes with LiDAR |
| Coverage per flight | Up to 550 ha (1,360 ac) at 2.7 cm GSD with the MAP61 sensor |
| Absolute accuracy | ~3 cm RMS (x, y, z) with PPK, no ground control points required |
| Radio link | 2.4 GHz, 10 km LOS primary; LTE secondary within cellular coverage |
| Wind tolerance | Sustained winds up to 12 m/s (27 mph); gusts to 18 m/s |
| Safety | Optional parachute add-on with flight termination (FAA Category 3 OOP approval, Dec. 2025); EASA C6 class certification in Europe |
| Compliance | NDAA compliant; AUVSI Green UAS; DCMA Blue UAS Cleared List |
| Payload options | MAP61 and SURVEY61 (61MP full-frame RGB), INSPECT (high-detail tele), Wingtra LIDAR, MicaSense RedEdge-P multispectral |
| Pricing (As of September 2026) | Advexure lists $23,100 hardware only, $36,500 for the bundle with PPK, software and 3-year support, and $52,300 with PPK plus the MAP61 payload; the parachute add-on lists at $10,900. Wingtra itself sells on quote. |
What the hot-swap bay actually buys you
The headline feature isn’t any single payload — it’s that Wingtra’s full lineup of survey payloads shares one airframe. A survey shop can run SURVEY61 for a construction as-built one morning and swap to the INSPECT payload for a dam or high-wall inspection that afternoon, without owning two aircraft or requalifying an operator on a second platform. That matters more for a firm juggling varied contract work than for one that only ever flies the same mission profile.
How it compares to multicopter mapping and its own predecessor
Wingtra’s own figures put WingtraRAY at roughly three to ten times the data-collection speed of a mapping multicopter, and about 40% faster than WingtraOne GEN II — a fixed-wing VTOL will nearly always out-cover a multirotor per battery, because it spends most of its flight cruising rather than hovering. That trade cuts the other way on tight, obstructed, or vertically complex sites: a multicopter with an oblique camera is still the better tool for a single building facade or a cluttered urban block where a fixed-wing’s turn radius becomes a liability.
Against Wingtra’s own WingtraOne GEN II, RAY’s parachute option is the more consequential upgrade than any accuracy or speed number. With the add-on fitted, RAY holds FAA Category 3 operations-over-people approval, which Wingtra says removes the need for waivers across about 98% of U.S. territory — opening up job sites near roads, staged construction areas, and populated corridors that GEN II operators had to route around or seek special authorization for. Just budget for it: at $10,900 as of September 2026, the parachute is a meaningful line item on top of the base bundle.
U.S. regulatory status
WingtraRAY is built by Swiss manufacturer Wingtra, so it falls under the FCC’s December 2025 Covered List action on foreign-produced drones. It’s currently exempt because Wingtra aircraft are on the DCMA Blue UAS Cleared List, and the FCC has extended that Blue UAS exemption to January 1, 2028. One thing to watch: the FCC’s pending “military-grade” proposal (PS Docket 26-189) would restrict imports of certain foreign drones by capability, including LiDAR-equipped systems, even if they were previously exempt. As of late September 2026 the comment period has closed but no final rule has been adopted. Buyers planning a LiDAR configuration should confirm current status with their reseller before ordering.
Where it fits
- Good fit: survey and mapping firms covering large acreage (mining, agriculture, corridor/utility mapping, large construction sites) who need survey-grade accuracy without dense ground control
- Good fit: operators who need to fly over people or near roads under Part 107 without a waiver — the Category 3-approved parachute add-on is the differentiator here
- Weaker fit: single-building inspection or tight urban capture, where a multicopter’s hover and oblique angles do the job better
- Weaker fit: shops with a tight budget for a single sensor — the value case depends on actually using multiple payloads, and a bundle with a camera and parachute quickly climbs past $60,000 at current reseller pricing
Bottom line
WingtraRAY is a legitimate step up for operators who already live in large-area survey work and need to diversify what they can quote without buying a second airframe. Reseller pricing now makes it easier to comparison-shop against competing VTOL survey platforms, but the real number depends on which payloads and whether you add the parachute — price the full configuration, and weigh whether your typical job size actually needs fixed-wing coverage before committing.
Sources
- Wingtra: WingtraRAY launch announcement
- Wingtra: WingtraRAY product page and specifications
- Wingtra: WingtraRAY secures FAA Category 3 OOP approval
- Wingtra: FCC status and U.S. eligibility of Wingtra UAS
- Advexure: WingtraRAY field guide
- Advexure: WingtraRAY specifications and pricing
- Advexure: WingtraRAY parachute add-on
- Inside Unmanned Systems: FCC extends exemptions, proposes new import ban
- KOREC Group: WingtraRAY payload and spec overview
- LE Drones: WingtraRAY hardware specifications
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