Valentine dronesFAA vetoes Valentine flower-delivery drone
Detroit-area florist Flower Delivery Express wanted to use drones to deliver flowers to customers on Valentine Day. The FAA rejected the request, dryly noting that “A commercial flight requires a certified aircraft, a licensed pilot, and operating approval.” The florist is not giving up yet, cryptically saying it is testing “other guarded secret methods” for flower delivery.
Flower Delivery Express of Walled Lake, Michigan had an idea: use drones to deliver flowers on Valentine Day. CEO Wesley Berry thought it was a great idea. “Drones are an emerging technology that will provide an economically viable shipping option for our customers,” he said in a statement. “We believe the use of drones will become common practice in the near future.”
Nextgov reports that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had other ideas, though. “Commercial operations are only authorized on a case-by-case basis,” FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Cory told Nextgov in an e-mail. “A commercial flight requires a certified aircraft, a licensed pilot, and operating approval.… Anyone who wants to fly an aircraft, manned or unmanned, in U.S. airspace needs some level of authorization from the FAA.”
Berry said he was contacted by an FAA official after his company made the drone-delivery announcement. “To be honest, I haven’t really read everything yet,” Berry told MLive of the FAA text. “But it sounds like being a good citizen means I couldn’t do (drone flower delivery) right now.”
The florist already has one drone in its fleet. The $7,000 system will stay on the ground for now, Berry said, until it is cleared to fly by the FAA.
While waiting for the FAA clearance, Flower Delivery Express continues to examine other delivery methods. The company says on its Web page that it is now testing an “Alternative Delivery Method Beta Program.” Nextgov notes that the company’s Facebook page cryptically says that the company is testing “other guarded secret methods” for flower delivery.
