Originally Posted by
jack11111
Ok, just a few operational questions.
What is the MTOW of a drone delivering a 1kg package? A 2kg package? A 5kg package?
Can a drone deliver only to a secure site with the recipient present? Or will the drone hide your package as the UPS driver does?
How will the drone deal with a curious neighbor? A curious neighbor child? A pet dog?
When the drone is ready to depart, does it yell, "Clear!"? Will non-aviation types even understand what "Clear" means?
If the drone malfunctions, will it radio for help?
Are drones VFR Only or are they all-weather?
Jack,
MTOW: I have a half-share in one that can lift 1 kg easily, its weight with batteries is 2.5 kg. But flying time at 3.5 kg is on the order of 9 minutes. With 0.5 kg payload another battery pack could be added for 18 minutes total duration. Its cruising speed would be 10 m/s which gives an effective range of 3 km. This is 2015 technology. To deliver 5kg to a destination say 3 km away would probably result in a TOW somewhere in the 25 kg region. Which the CAA consider to be a "heavy".
Problems at destination: Equipped with a video link an operator could monitor the delivery, and do the equivalent of UPS's "no-one in" driveby.
Takeoff: The transmitter for ours says "All clear above and behind?" when the throttle reaches 10%. Takeoff is at about 65-70%. At the delivery end a small speaker could do the same, in fact cover a range of situations. We don't have the facilities to test with dogs; cats are interested but don't come near, too noisy. (This is while motor testing tied to a 50kg garden table with 4 cats hanging around.)
UAV problems: There is a range of telemetry that can be sent back. Some the the larger systems use an Arduino computer for on-board control, and that can be programmed for all sorts of situations. If a motor fails the controllers for 6 & 8 motor UAVS can cope to some extent, generally by landing where they are. Controllers with 3 or 4 motors cannot cope.
IFR?: No reason they can't be made waterproof. Just adds a little more weight for covers and seals. Probably a good idea to make sure the payload can stand being in the vigorous shower from the props though.
However using them for real delivery is just a PT Barnum show. I'm sure it will be done, but expect a brown/yellow/white van at your own door.
'b