19 Mar Amazon Wins Approval to Test Delivery Drones Outdoors
SEATTLE — Federal regulators have given Amazon a green light to begin testing drones, but it will most likely take years before the online retailer can start delivering packages from the air to peoples’ homes.
The Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday gave Amazon permission to conduct test flights of its drones outdoors, as long as the company obeys a host of rules like flying below 400 feet and only during daylight hours.
In a sign of how far Amazon has to go before its vision for its drone-delivery service is realized, the company’s drones for now will have to be operated by a pilot with a certificate to fly a private manned aircraft. Amazon has envisioned its drone-delivery service, which it calls Amazon Prime Air, to be autonomous, consisting of buzzing fleets of miniature helicopters soaring far beyond the view of Amazon warehouses.
While the F.A.A. has announced plans to allow more commercial uses of manned drones in American skies, it has not said when it will permit the use of autonomous drones by companies like Amazon. The agency’s main concern is making sure that drones, which everyone from farmers to cinematographers have shown interest in using for business purposes, can be operated safely.
Continue reading the main story
Document: Amazon Letter to the Federal Aviation Administration
Still, even getting permission to test drones outdoors with a pilot counts as progress for Amazon, which has been lobbying the F.A.A. for approval to do so for months. The company has previously been forced to test drones indoors near its headquarters in Seattle. It has also started outdoor tests outside the United States and has warned federal regulators that jobs and investment dollars will leave the country if they do not relax their current drone restrictions.
Read full article>>