Posted on May 27, 2020
Lt Col Charlie Brown
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DRONES: Kitty Hawk, Round Two
Zipline drone, which will be used with Novant Health and Zipline's North Carolina drone logistics operation
Zipline

A brand new zipline is coming to the U.S., but it won’t lead to any summer camper wedgies or tourist accidents. California-based Zipline, which claims to operate the world's largest autonomous drone delivery network, is deploying its tech in North Carolina.

Today, Novant Health announced it's launching an FAA-approved “emergency drone logistics operation” that will deliver medical supplies to the Charlotte, NC metro area. Zipline will be contributing the flying robot services.

“Once the pandemic hit, it changed everything for us,” Zipline CEO Keller Rinaudo told the Brew. After scaling Zipline’s services in Rwanda and Ghana, “We asked: ‘What more can we do to help other countries prepare for and respond to COVID-19?’ which led to the effort now being launched in America.”

First in flight
At a national level, today’s announcement marks the first time the FAA has approved long-range drone logistics flights. Novant Health’s operation is also the first to be cleared for Class D airspace, where the FAA actively manages all air traffic.

At a Tar Heel level, this is “First in Flight” all over again. The Wright brothers launched the first non-drone from Kitty Hawk, NC. Now, North Carolina has made itself a launching pad for commercial drones, just like Arizona emerged as a lab for self-driving cars. Novant Health’s operation will launch as part of NC’s Department of Transportation’s drone integration pilot program.

The actual logistics


Zipline

Zipline’s drones will transfer PPE and critical medical supplies from a medical fulfillment center to a health facility. Round trip, the flights will be 20–30 miles. Current U.S. commercial drone operations range from a few hundred feet to a couple miles max.

Zipline’s drones have a total range of 100+ miles, which could allow them to reach 30 additional Novant Health facilities (with FAA approval).
Down the road, drones could deliver additional types of key medical cargo: tests, drug trials, and vaccines. In the next couple years, Zipline and Novant Health plan to transition from emergency operations to regular commercial services, scale coverage to additional health centers, and eventually, serve all NC households.

Asked if there’s more in store for Zipline, Rinaudo said: “Yes. We're ready to expand across the United States and the world.”
Posted in these groups: Drone Drones90cd01a1 MedicalF9989196 Quarantine
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Responses: 8
Sgt Commander, Dav Chapter #90
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An Interesting plan, I hope it works, but I see potential issues if there is inter City drone flights as drone congestion grows over time... Hopefully it gets rolled out with minimum issues... Could be very beneficial if rolled out well...
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Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen
Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen
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See your point, but expect FAA will come up with "drone routes" just like we have approved routes for every aircraft that flies.
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