First introduced in 2019, the Freefly Alta X is the heavy-lift older brother of the Astro in Freefly Systems’ lineup. Built and tested in Woodinville, WA, it draws on years of engineering across the Alta family and was designed for both cinema and industrial missions where lift, endurance, and image quality matters.
Alta X carries up to 35 lb while maintaining precise control. It flies approximately 41.7 minutes with a 5 lb payload, and typically holds around 20 minutes at 20 lb.
Freefly's ActiveBlade reduces peak vibration to one fifth of normal levels to help deliver cleaner orthomosaics, tighter point clouds, and smoother footage overall.
The airframe folds to half its size for transport, and the Smart Dovetail interface enables quick top or bottom payload changes.
Paired with the Pilot Pro controller, Alta X is a flexible tool that supports mapping, inspection, broadcasting, and specialty payload work.
In Q1 2026, Freefly will be releasing Alta X Gen2 and add the Skynode flight controller and expanded smart payload interfaces first seen on Astro Max, bringing tighter mission planning, logging, and integration to the platform.
Manufactured in Woodinville, WA, USA
Freefly designs, machines, assembles, and tests all of their airframes, gimbals, and controllers at a single campus in Woodinville, Washington. Keeping engineering, production, and support under one roof gives the team tight control over sourcing, quality, and turnaround.
The company’s roots are in cinema, where Mōvi stabilizers set high expectations early on for reliability and handling. That same approach now carries into industrial work with their UAS lineup. Interfaces are open by design, so operators and integrators can adapt payloads and workflows without reworking the aircraft.
Every product runs through in-house structural, environmental, electrical, and software checks before release. Documentation is detailed and current, and U.S.-based support and spare parts are available to keep fleets moving.
A Brief Timeline of Freefly Alta
April 2015 — Alta 6 releases
Freefly introduces the first top/bottom-mounted camera drone, establishing the Alta line’s flexible payload mounting approach.
March 2016 — Alta 8 releases
An eight-rotor version expands lift capacity and stability for larger camera and sensor packages.
September 2019 — Alta X launches
Alta X becomes a trusted heavy-lift workhorse for cinema and industrial teams, pairing large, efficient props with precise control and fast field setup.
October 2021 — Alta X added to DIU Blue list
Alta X is selected for the DoD’s Blue UAS list.
February 2022 — Alta 6 / Alta 8 reach EOL
Freefly retires earlier platforms as Alta X becomes the primary focus for heavy-lift missions.
September 2023 — Pilot Pro controller launches
Freefly’s professional ground control station debuts, paving the way for tighter integration with the Alta line.
February 2024 — Avalanche control test with Alta X
Drone Amplified and Alaska DOT conduct a drone-induced, controlled avalanche using Alta X.
Q1 2026 — Alta X Gen2 releasing
Gen2 combines the rugged Alta X airframe with the Skynode mission autonomy, smart payload interfaces, and workflow integration first introduced on Astro Max.
Alta X's Lift & Endurance
Alta X lifts 35 lb without compromising precise control, which allows larger LiDAR sensors, cinema packages, and multi-sensor rigs on one platform instead of two.
Endurance scales in a way field teams can plan around: about 41.7 minutes at a 5 lb load for wide-area coverage and about 20 minutes at 20 lb.
With a 3.1:1 thrust ratio, the aircraft keeps meaningful power in reserve for high winds, maneuvering, and precise control near structures. All of this amounts to fewer battery swaps, fewer flights to finish a mission, and cleaner data because the aircraft can hold position and speed consistently while carrying powerful payloads.
ActiveBlade Vibration Reduction
Freefly’s new ActiveBlade design cuts peak vibration to one-fifth of normal levels, reducing the oscillations that cause “jello-ing,” warped orthomosaics, and noisy point clouds. The team has logged 3 million-plus test cycles to validate durability and repeatability. Lower vibration means less fatigue on components, longer motor-bearing life, and less motion reaching the payload, translating to cleaner imagery and smoother footage. In practice, crews see fewer retakes, fewer reruns of flight lines, and more usable data per mission.
Smart Dovetail & Integration I/O
Alta X’s Smart Dovetail provides a quick-connect mount on the top or bottom of the airframe, so crews can change payloads in seconds.
Power and data are ready for easy integration: three battery-voltage outputs (fused), optional 5 V / 12 V DC-DC converters for sensitive electronics, and exposed UART (MAVLink), USB-C (updates/service), I²C, and CAN ports for accessories.
Batteries & Charging Workflow
Alta X flies on two 12S, 16 Ah packs, a straightforward setup that keeps field turnaround predictable. For continuous operations, a practical baseline is one dual-channel charger and six Alta X batteries per aircraft; if you can’t charge on site and need more than three flights, add one extra battery pair per additional mission.
Each charger handles two batteries at a time, so adding chargers scales throughput without complicating the workflow.
Navigation, RTK & Skynode
Alta X Gen2 will add Skynode as its flight controller, bringing a tuned PX4 stack, intelligent failsafes, and stronger GPS resilience for precise, repeatable flight.
Standard Remote ID comes preconfigured. For survey-grade positioning, an optional multi-band RTK setup enables centimeter-level hold and consistent ground-sample geometry.
Integration is cleaner through the internal payload bay, which provides onboard Ethernet, regulated payload power, and optional LTE for remote connectivity.
Alta X vs Alta X Gen2 Comparison
|
Feature |
Alta X (2019) |
Alta X Gen2 (Q1 2026) |
|---|---|---|
|
Max payload |
35 lb |
35 lb |
|
Endurance examples* |
≈41.7 min @ 5 lb; ≈35 min @ 8 lb (mapping); ≈30 min @ 11 lb (Phoenix LiDAR); ≈22 min @ 22 lb (Mōvi Carbon); ≈20 min @ 20 lb |
≈41.7 min @ 5 lb; ≈35 min @ 8 lb (mapping); ≈30 min @ 11 lb (Phoenix LiDAR); ≈22 min @ 22 lb (Mōvi Carbon); ≈20 min @ 20 lb |
|
Thrust ratio |
3.1 : 1 |
3.1 : 1 |
|
Top speed |
≈80 mph |
≈80 mph |
|
ActiveBlade |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Flight controller |
Custom PX4 flight-control stack |
Skynode (PX4-based) |
|
Controller / radios |
Supports Futaba, Spektrum, SBUS/PPM |
Pilot Pro; Doodle Labs RF or Herelink RF |
|
Payload interface |
Integrated quick release (top or bottom) |
Smart Dovetail quick-connect (top or bottom) |
|
Power & I/O |
3× battery-voltage outputs (fused); optional 5 V / 12 V DC-DC; UART (MAVLink), USB-C, I²C, CAN |
12 V & 24 V regulators; internal payload bay; expanded comms/power paths |
|
RTK |
Optional multi-band RTK |
Optional multi-band RTK |
|
Connectivity |
— |
Onboard Ethernet, optional LTE |
|
Transport |
Folds to half size |
Folds to half size |
Manufacturer figures; endurance varies with altitude, temperature, wind, and mission profile.
Alta X Gen2 Bundle Options & Pricing
Alta X Gen2 + Pilot Pro (Doodle Labs RF) — NDAA bundle
This bundle pairs the Alta X Gen2 airframe with the Pilot Pro controller fitted with a Doodle Labs RF link for NDAA compliance. Standard Remote ID is preconfigured and the bundle ships in a travel case and includes the airframe with props installed, Extra Bits Kit, AS150U fused adapter for safe bench setup, skid landing gear (380 mm legs), 12 mm rail kit, and a Smart Dovetail with an isolated mount (LR1-ready), plus an FPV camera feed viewable on Pilot Pro.
Alta X Gen2 DIU Blue approval is in process for the airframe. Starting at $45,000 USD.
Alta X Gen2 + Pilot Pro (Herelink RF) — non-NDAA bundle
For programs that don’t require NDAA, this option bundles Alta X Gen2 with Pilot Pro configured with a Herelink RF link. It ships with the same case and pre-installed accessories i.e. travel case, airframe with props and Standard RID, Extra Bits Kit, AS150U adapter, skid landing gear (380 mm legs), 12 mm rail kit, Smart Dovetail, and FPV feed to Pilot Pro, while offering a lower entry price. Starting at $40,000 USD.
Prices exclude batteries, chargers, payloads, and accessory cases. A practical baseline is one dual-channel charger and six Alta X Gen2 batteries per aircraft; final cost varies with payload selection and kit build.
Alta X Compatible Payloads & Sensor Ecosystem
Alta X supports a broad ecosystem of sensors via Smart Dovetail and top/bottom quick-connect mounting, so teams can move from mapping to inspection or specialty tasks in minutes.
LiDAR & SLAM
-
HOVERMAP ST-X, HOVERMAP ST
-
RESEPI™ Ouster OS1-64
-
Inertial Labs RESEPI™ Teledyne
-
Inertial Labs RESEPI™ Hesai XT-32, XT-32M2X
-
YellowScan: Mapper+, Surveyor Ultra, Voyager, Explorer, Navigator
-
GeoCue: TrueView 535, TrueView 625, TV1 & TV1 Lite
-
ROCK Robotic: ROCK R3 Pro V2, ROCK Ultra
-
GreenValley International X3C-H
Imaging / RGB / Multispectral / Hyperspectral
-
Flux: H1, o1, L1
-
MicaSense Altum-PT
-
Headwall: Co-Aligned HP, Nano HP
-
NextVision DragonEye2
-
ITRE MICROCASI-1920
Specialized Sensing & Industrial
-
Arktis FPG Radiation Detection System
-
SPH Engineering: MagNIMBUS + SkyHub, EchoLogger Echo Sounder + SkyHub, Laser Falcon G2 + SkyHub
Wildfire / Rescue / Delivery
-
Drone Amplified IGNIS (ignition)
-
Drone Rescue Systems DRS-25 (parachute)
Lighting & Accessories
-
FoxFury D3060-TC Light
-
Drone Amplified DA-STROBE
This list reflects major, fielded integrations. Smart Dovetail keeps the platform open for additional sensors as they come to market; filter by “Alta X” on the payloads page to see the evolving directory.
An Industrial Workhorse
Alta X is a heavy-lift platform built for missions where endurance, image quality, and uptime is critical. It carries up to 35 lb, reaches about 41.7 minutes at a 5 lb load, and uses ActiveBlade to cut peak vibration to one-fifth of normal levels. And with Alta X Gen2 releasing in 2026, adding Skynode and Pilot Pro, it's a great time to start planning your next heavy-lift addition to your fleet. Request a quote for Alta X Gen2 today.
