Amazon has secured FAA approval to test out delivery via drone. But don’t expect your packages to be delivered to your door by drone just yet. The company was issued an experimental airworthiness permit to test the drones outside for the purposes of research and crew training.
But the drones must stay in the line of sight of the pilot and the pilot must be a licensed pilot. The drones must stay below 400 feet and can only fly during the day.
Amazon’s goal with it’s drone service is to have packages delivered to customers within 30 minutes from the time of order. The 30 minute delivery time would, of course, be limited to locations near a warehouse facility.
The company believes that one day seeing Amazon drones will be a normal a sight as a mail truck on the road.
~ Cynthia
It would be great to have faster service, but at what cost?
Drone delivery is a bad idea. There is already enough chaos in the air as it is now. Jeff Bezos just wants publicity.
I think it’s a great idea, my concern would be safety. failure of the drone, high winds, drone loosing, contact crashing into home, business, other .Theft, some low life trying to shoot it down. I think strong laws should be in order also.
It wouldn’t take long for hackers to hijack them. Amazon should first be trying to work on hacking and security
NO. to dangerous. package could drop on someone. to easy to drop a bomb.
It works for me as long as there is no hazard to life or limb.
Such drones are highly susceptible to criminal, as well as accidental, abuse. I can see drones striking people, power lines, structures, etc. They may be misdirected by wind, or struck by lightning, or struck by something moving quickly, such as a runner, truck, or car. There are myriad things that could cause great bodily or financial harm. I don’t believe that a “pilot” can or WILL maintain constant view of a drone. It’s just not practicable or secure, especially in an urban environment. What’s to prevent a prankster–or a malevolent terrorist–from misusing drones? Someone with malicious intent can easily obtain and deploy a drone for nefarious reasons. Egad….
How do you deliver to an apartment house?
Applaud for creativity, but leave delivery to USPS. THEY ALREADY DO THE JOB VERY WELL.
It is inevitable. Security. Is the issue.
I think this would be carrying laziness just too far considering the additional danger this would place on the public. Our airways are crowded enough already. Just because it might be able to be accomplished does not make it a good or a smart idea. I would be against it.
Just think what another “pilot” just did. This will only open up another avenue for the crazies.
Many things would be nice quickly delivered but I don’t believe that drone delivery of Amazon packages is not one of them.
I support drone delivery as just another step in modernization of delivery systems.
I don’t think it’s a good idea. If something gets lost how can one tell where? No I am against it. Most people don’t mind to wait a day or more.
How much is TOO much. This is pushing the envelope. If you can’t wait a couple of days for a delivery you should really think about scheduling your time!
Great, I would love to get my order in 30 minutes. Kudos to Amazon to take us senior citizens into the next century. Star Trek lives on.
I hope the delivery drones don’t slice off my porch lights while delivering my vitamin pills.
Bad Idea.
Just another way for helpless people to get killed or injured.
I wouldn’t want my child to be playing in the yard and one of those things going out of control and crashing into him.
It also just opens the door for terrorists to gain control and deliver a weapon.
If you need the package that bad get in your car and go pick it up.
On the other side how may delivery guys are going to lose their job because a drone replaced them.
You can bitch out the delivery guy if a drone screws up who takes the blame?
It is very cool and has a lot of positives. That said, it is a huge nightmare for National Defense and Privacy issues. With a steady fleet of drones in the air, getting us all us to the presence of small flying objects will tend to dull our perception of them and ignore them as visual “backgrounds”, like birds, highway traffic, etc, etc. Makes it much easier to slip in drones for less noble and dangerous tasks…
Big concern is security and safety issues..A bit scary
I am quite satisfied with the “old fashioned way”. I do not care for the proliferation of drones and think that it is a bad idea. That being said, I know they will go ahead with the use of the delivery drones but I would rather they didn’t.
No, it doesn’t bother me. One concern would be the package size to be delivered and control of the drone.
Great idea. This will provide a whole new method of getting things from one place to another. Costs of delivery will go down, service will get a lot better and there will be less traffic disruption because of frequent stops by delivery vehicles. With tamper proof (if that be possible) software doing the deliveries, ther will be less likelyhood of wrong deliveries .
How about just keeping our friendly neighborhood mailman to always has time to chat and tell you “have a great day”! Don’t think that Drone will ever be able to compete with that.
Like the idea….a step toward future way of delivering packages fast. Keep in mind though it has to be safe and secure.
What is the average flight speed? Can it get around/under big trees and shrubbs? Does “delivery” mean anywhere on the property and not the porch? What if it encounters rain? Does it deploy an automatic umbrella to protect the package or will packaging be changed to plastic/waterproof materials? This isn’t reallly going to work in cities where you drop something off on the sidewalk outside an address instead of delivery to apt and the first person walking by has a surprise “present”…. Send mine by ground mail services please.
The rednecks and the neighborhood cowboys will have a field day shooting them out of the sky. And how long will it take the hackers to detect the radio signal that controls the drones to hijack my package? I can also see local “drone wars” when anyone can buy a drone of their own to joust with the Amazon drones. Just my regular paranoia doing its thing here.
Nope! Don’t like it. Opens the door to trouble, I think.
Let’s go back to the pony express! Times were so different and life was simple.
I know — it ain’t goin’ to happen…
(I’m an English teacher. I know my grammar lacks something here, but I want to get across my strong objections to the drone idea!)
I have been flying radio control for 20 years and I heartily disapprove of delivery drones.
I have a “drone” and to have a drone that can lift and deliver even a 2 pound package puts it in the danger zone. A drone doesn’t have wings, it can’t glide. It will drop like a rock. The whole concept is way out there with present configurations.
There will be increased accidents of flying objects with possible human injuries. This is unacceptable. Licensing does not remove the danger. A very bad idea.
Too many things in the sky already. Delivery by drones is a dangerous idea. Careless operators, disgruntled employees, and terrorist infiltration are all disasters looking for a place to happen. I’m surprised that Amazon isn’t worried about their added liability to insure for.
I predict that the sale of shotgun ammo will skyrocket.
This noting more than a publicity stunt at this time for Amazon and you have been sucked into promoting the Amazon brand. Read the fine print from FAA This is not practical.
How many drones are there going to be flying at one time. This seems like the commercial where the people walk outside and the sky is flooded with drones.
I think that it is a great idea especially since we have a large Amazon warehouse here in Tracy, CA. I feel the the entire drone phobia is blown way out of proportion, drones , military or not, are here to stay. Yeah military drones!, many less “boots on the ground!!
Just wait until you see Amazon clone drones dropping molotovs and see what you think of them then.
Nope. It’s dangerous. it can be abused by the terrorists to attact any target
Oh yeah, the “terrorists!” You mean the same “terrorists” that the TSA has been looking for for almost 14 years and they haven’t caught a single one yet? Although, the FBI is pretty good at catching “terrorists” when they set up some ignorant rubes first.
I will be collecting drones who fly over my property. A slingshot with a rock should bring it down. Where are the home owners rights on this
Do we really need more distractions while we’re driving, flying, jogging. What’s next, Fly-by shootings, drugs on demand, dial a bomb? Common sense people.
What’s it gonna do when it gets to my apt bldg? Assuming the front door is open (probably not), is it gonna come upstairs and knock on my door? Failing that, is it gonna drop the package off in the front yard? What if it’s raining/snowing, the wind is blowing? What if my package is left outside and it gets stolen, blown away by the wind, or is left in a deep puddle of water? Oh, if I submit an order with Amazon and expect it in 30 minutes, that should mean I’ll be at home when the drone arrives, and Amazon will call first .. only, I might not be at home. Suppose someone doesn’t like drones and they shoot it down? What if it gets hit by lightning or otherwise breaks down?
A billion and one things can go wrong, guys. I’ll take a pass.
Delivering Amazon products such as books, electrical gadgets, software, etc. by drones is not a good idea. We have already cluttered outerspace with all sorts of satellites and other debris. Do we now want to clutter our atmosphere with drones? I hope not.
Drones may be useful in emmergency situations such as delivering a heart for transplant.
I like the KISS theory (Keep It Simple Stupid).
Do not want drones in the sky delivering anything. Agree with Mr. Rue above completely – no cluttering our atmosphere any further.
Very spooky. Someone will probably try to shoot them down….”death of a delivery”?
My concerns here are simple. Where will the products be delivered to each establishments if their are several different business’ in same building? Where is the guarantee that that delivery will get to the delivery point? Security comes into play here and trust worthiness as well from others around the delivery area. If dropped off critters such as dogs are a curious animal and may thing it is a toy. Curious persons seeing small something same scenario. The concept is great, but the security interests are a real concern Their are sticky fingered people out there too.
Add my “NO” vote. I could repeat all of the valid reasons against the drones stated in previous posts. I’ll simply repeat “NO”.
Additional air clutter with high accident potential. How would this prevent the high amount of package theft currently occuring? If backyard delivery how is package weather or sprinkler proofed, as well as protected from animal damage? A very poor idea, frought with extensive problem potential. How about discounting cost of freight and delivering to a secure facility where recipient can retrieve with proper identification?
I think we have too much junk in the air already.
The delivery services available used to be very good
but all of a sudden it has turned lousy.
The delivery people throw your packages on the porch
and don’t even ring the doorbell. If its raining many
of the packages end up soaking wet. We need to train the
services we have already how to make an efficient delivery.
What is the drone going to do drop packages like a bomb.
I don’t like the idea, and I don’t think that degree of delivery speed is necessary. Could be hazardous to children, to structures, to automobiles (accidents DO happen) and would cause general neighborhood clutter. No thanks.
Very bad idea for MANY reasons.
The first thing I thought of was how would it be placed on my covered porch, and what if I were sitting out there? What delivery service would oversee this or would it just be called Amazon delivery? I’m never opposed to new innovations but I would surely want to be assured of it’s safety. When the post office started using trucks to deliver mail people were also afraid of getting run over, but we are used to it now. I guess I have more questions than anything else.