Amazon’s Prime Air drone delivery service set to take off

Picture a resident in a small northern California town, sitting on their back porch and watching an Amazon drone descend and drop a package containing a small item — ordered less than an hour earlier — in the yard.

According to Amazon, this scene will become a reality later this year, after the Seattle-based company spent nine years and $2 billion working toward residential drone deliveries — encountering developmental and testing challenges along the way. Subject to FAA approval, the much-anticipated Prime Air home drone delivery service, long promised by Amazon, is set to become operational this year, at least on a small scale, in the community of Lockeford, Calif., which has a population of roughly 3,500. ‘Thousands’ of items eligible The Prime Air service will deliver “thousands of everyday items” of up to 5 lbs in less than an hour, Amazon's communication department told Cargo Facts ’ sister publication Air Cargo World . The latest iteration of the the e-commerce giant’s package-delivery drone, the hexagon-shaped MK27-2, can travel 50 miles per hour up to an altitude of 400 feet, according to the company. During the last nine years, Amazon has developed and tested more than two dozen delivery-drone prototypes leading up to the newest version that is slated to be used in the Lockeford pilot program. [caption id="attachment_56725871" align="alignright" width="560"] Amazon’s latest hexagonal MK27-2 drone. (Photo/Amazon)[/caption] Amazon in 2020 received a Part 135 air carrier certificate for Prime Air, allowing it to deploy unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) for delivery operations . But the agency still must approve the planned California operation before it can commence. While the start date for the new drone service is not yet settled, Amazon is already contacting Lockeford residents to sign them up. There will be no added charge for drone deliveries — orders will be placed as usual for current Amazon deliveries. However, program participants will be able to choose from “Prime Air-eligible” delivery items on Amazon’s website or app and can follow their delivery’s progress via an Amazon status tracker. “The delivery drone will fly to the designated delivery location, descend to the customer’s backyard and hover at a safe height,” according to Amazon. “It will then safely release the package, rise back up to altitude and return to base.” The company is emphasizing the difference between its unmanned aircraft system (UAS) and recreational drones. The MK27-2 has “a sophisticated sense-and-avoid system that enables Amazon drones to operate at greater distances while safely and reliably avoiding other aircraft, people, pets and obstacles,” Amazon said. “When flying to the delivery location and back, Amazon drones can identify static objects, like chimneys, and moving obstacles, like other aircraft. If obstacles are detected, Amazon drones will automatically change course to safely avoid them. As the drone descends to deliver the package into a customer’s backyard, the drone ensures that there’s a small area around the delivery location that’s clear of any people, animals or other obstacles.” Meeting FAA regs According to FAA documents, the MK27-2 has a maximum gross takeoff weight of 89 lbs. The drone is 78 inches wide, 65 inches in length and 46 inches tall, and relies on battery-powered electric motors for takeoff, cruise and landing. Amazon intends for one remote pilot to oversee and operate up to twenty MK27-2 drones at once, according to the FAA. The UAS service will rely on regulatory approval for operations beyond the visual line of sight (BVLOS) of the remote pilot. Amazon has filed documents with the FAA that are needed to enable BVLOS operations; the documents request greater flexibility in using the MK27-2 based upon safety upgrades to the previous MK27 model. Regarding the specifics of Amazon’s Lockeford operation, an FAA spokesperson said the agency does not comment “on pending certification projects or discussions with companies.” A horizon full of drones Lockeford is a testing ground for Amazon’s larger ambitions for UAS delivery. The company’s long-term aim is “a drone delivery service that will scale and integrate into its vast fulfillment network to bring the world’s biggest selection to customers everywhere, fast,” according to the document provided to Air Cargo World. Amazon is building its fleet of drones at a 500,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Seattle’s Georgetown neighborhood that it leased in 2019, and preparing for potential wider services. The e-tailer is not alone in having robust drone-delivery ambitions. In May, retail giant Walmart said its UAS delivery trials, operated by Virginia Beach, Va.-based DroneUp drones, will grow by the end of 2022 to thirty-four sites spread over six states: Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Texas, Utah and Virginia. Unlike Amazon, which plans to station drones at warehouses, Walmart is staging and loading drones at store locations. And Wing, the Mountainview, Calif-based drone delivery company operated by Google parent Alphabet, in April started drone delivery trials in the Dallas, Texas-area communities of Frisco and Little Elm. Wing’s drones, which use a cable to drop items into yards, are staged at Walgreens stores. Feedback from Lockeford residents will drive decision making as it scales up its drone deliveries, Amazon said. Stay tuned for the cargo drone feature in the July 2022 issue of Cargo Facts .

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