back to article Amazon issued with licence for delivery drone madness

Amazon has been granted a special "experimental airworthiness certificate" by the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) to test out new drones. The only problem is it's completely useless to the online retailer as it contains a line-of-sight requirement that would make its main aim of delivering packages impossible. It is over two …

  1. Nameless Dread

    "... the FAA may find time to get off its ass..."

    A bit like Donkey Hotee standing down to tilt at windmills ?

    1. Kubla Cant

      Donkey Hotee rode a horse (Rosinante). It was San Joe Panzer who rode the donkey.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    If Lester had some decent binoculars might not the line of sight argument expedite the FSA letting LOHAN fly?

  3. Bill 21

    As an alternative to VLOS, how about they require a pigeon with a red flag to fly in front of the drone?

  4. adrian727

    Just add more drones

    Add more drones to give a line of sight view to each other and violia!

    Problem solved.

  5. Mark 85

    In some ways, it's a pity that military drones can't come under this ruling... Maybe Amazon needs to qualify their drones for military usage?

    1. Thorne

      Military drones have a human operator as where Amazon drones are fully autonomous (or hope to be)

  6. Captain DaFt

    So why is Amazon pursuing the idea?

    Because they sell in a lot more countries than just the USA.

    It probably won't be many more years before packages are winging to the doorsteps of buyers around the World, except in the US.

    1. Neil Barnes Silver badge

      Re: So why is Amazon pursuing the idea?

      Still can't see it; you need to be awful sure of your safeties.

      Extreme example: Amazon, please deliver to my work address - Control Tower, 1 Airport Way, Heathrow...

      For the back of beyond delivery it might make sense, but they're going to have to solve the range problem and if it's not autonomous it defeats the object.

      (Oh, and an AI so it can wait until you're out and *then* attempt the delivery...)

      1. Kubla Cant

        Sorry you were out

        We tried to deliver your parcel, but you were out. So we bombed your house instead.

    2. Anonymous Blowhard

      Re: So why is Amazon pursuing the idea?

      "It probably won't be many more years before packages are winging to the doorsteps of buyers around the World"

      I can't see the aviation authorities in other countries being any more likely to allow drone operations than the FAA and the UK CAA; in practice a lot of these will be following the US and UK experiments with drone operations to save themselves the cost of doing the research and development, so flying parcels will probably happen just after flying cars.

      The drone fans out there won't like it, but the safety issues around drones are a lot more complicated than for delivery vans; this may be a thing that will only happen when we have complete automatic control, including traffic control, of all aircraft. By then it may be illegal for a human to pilot an aircraft, and "pilot" will be a once-was job like "elevator operator".

      1. Neil Barnes Silver badge

        Re: So why is Amazon pursuing the idea?

        Which, as a paraglider pilot, will probably rather upset me.

      2. Vic

        Re: So why is Amazon pursuing the idea?

        I can't see the aviation authorities in other countries being any more likely to allow drone operations than the FAA and the UK CAA

        The Germans have already allowed it.

        Vic.

  7. harmjschoonhoven
    Thumb Up

    Re: VLOS only

    There are enough situations where delivery by drone with visual line-of-sight will be economically viable. Think the farm at the end of a dirt track, a mountain hut, a ship or an island or just any disaster zone.

  8. big_D

    Re-read

    It is an experimental licence. That means that it the FAA don't think the technology has been proven enough to fly "solo" with just a camera, so during the test period they have to remain in VLOS. I don't think that is too much to ask for the experimental phase.

    Once Amazon can prove they are reliably, they can probably move on to another level and drop the VLOS requirement.

    I do think the pilot's licence and medical are good though.

    1. phil dude
      Thumb Up

      Re: Re-read

      that was my take, too.

      P.

  9. Ken Moorhouse Silver badge

    Does it say Line of Sight wrt both the Launching and Landing Site?

    Surely Amazon will be thinking along the lines of a string of pilots which will hand-over control along the route of the drone, in a similar way to the traditional block signalling system used on railways.

  10. Voland's right hand Silver badge

    Hmm... Line of sight... Hm....

    Right, Put the delivery NOC into a baloon gondola, and hoist it 10 miles up above aircraft corridors.

    This gives 100 miles or thereabouts line of sight - more than the range of the drones.

    So what were you saying once more?

  11. Headley_Grange Silver badge

    From Texas

    Dang It!

    I'd just promised the six-year old a shotgun for his birthday so he could go shooting for his own Christmas presents this year.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: From Texas

      Oh. he can still use it to hold up traditional delivery vehicles and then he'll have a whole truckload of presents to choose from. The present doesn't need to go to waste, hell he could even just use it to hold up a bank and use the loot to buy whatever he wants.

      Sure beats getting him to steal a random present that he probably doesn't want anyway - and a lot less waiting around for a potential flight path over the trailer park.

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    VLOS is less of an issue if you are above ground level. I don't think it is beyond the wit of Amazon to setup some sort of sub-cloud based monitoring system.

  13. DropBear
    FAIL

    "it says that the pilot must have "at least a private pilot’s certificate and current medical certification"

    Oh, Amazon is clearly way ahead of these nitwits - the former astronaut they hired is probably in anticipation of the times when drone operators will need certificates on supporting 10+ G's too (next to the ones about having won the Ironman Triathlon at least three times, being clairvoyant and being able to See The Matrix - there are reports that a requirement of having personally met Xenu is also being considered).

  14. martinusher Silver badge

    Parodied already

    Audi has been showing a neat TV advertisement in the US which parodies the Hitchcock film "The Birds" using quadcopters instead of crows. Included with the menacing quadcopters are some trying to deliver packages (....and failing).

    Its worth a look....

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "at least a private pilot’s certificate and current medical certification".

    This is nonsensical.

    The FAA prohibits the holder of a private pilot’s certificate from flying for hire.

    So do they expect the Amazon drone pilots to be unpaid volunteers?

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